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JRA Academic Posters

Each JRA is asked to design an academic poster, which is then displayed in an annual exhibition to celebrate the work of the JRAs. This page tells you everything you need to know about designing and displaying your poster.

Creating an Academic Poster

As per the terms and conditions of the JRA contract, all students are required to design an academic poster as the main output of their JRA project. This allows JRAs to present their research projects to academics and fellow students, as well as gaining experience in communicating research topics and ideas to a wider audience through a method frequently used in the academic community.

As designing an academic poster is a new experience for most JRAs, workshops are included as part of the mandatory JRA training sessions, which will provide all the information and knowledge needed to design a poster. There are also JRA Poster Guidelines to provide additional advice, as well as last year’s top posters shown below and more examples available on our Previous JRA Projects page, where you will find a gallery of some previously shortlisted JRA posters too.

Poster Submission

All JRAs must submit a PDF version of their poster, which must be A1 size and in portrait orientation. It should be sent as an email attachment (or via WeTransfer if the size of the poster is too large) to undergraduate-research@sussex.ac.uk and clearly titled, ideally using the following format: Surname, first name - JRA Poster.

All you have to do is design and submit the poster, as staff will arrange for them to be professionally printed ready for the exhibition.

Poster Exhibition

All JRA posters will be displayed at the annual JRA Poster Exhibition, which celebrates the research projects completed across the JRA scheme. The event is comprised of a public exhibition of all academic posters, which is open to faculty, staff, students and the general public, as well as an award ceremony, where JRAs are presented with a certificate of completion and prizes are awarded. Once the exhibition is over, all JRAs are allowed to keep their poster for future use.

Poster Prizes

Although the main purpose of the exhibition is to celebrate undergraduate research and all the completed research projects, there is also a competitive element. Once all JRA posters have been submitted, they are judged by a mix of academics and faculty members based on the Scoring Criteria and the top 5-10 posters are shortlisted. These finalists present their poster and research project to a small judging panel on the day of the Poster Exhibition and, based on these poster presentations alongside the posters themselves, the top two are selected and awarded a prize at the award ceremony. These prize winners are also invited to represent Sussex at BCUR's annual Posters in Parliament exhibition in the Spring.

Winning JRA Posters 2023

Shortlisted posters from the 2023 JRA scheme, including winner Tom Baird-Taylor and runners-up Natalia James, plus the People's Choice Award winner Keerthy Vijendran.