Symposium Pitch

Assignment overview

Imagine it is April 24, 2024 and you are presenting your project at The Data Mine Symposium. A visitor approaches your poster and asks you to tell them about your project. What do you say? Your goal is to explain your project in less than a minute and a half in a meaningful way that describes the background, impact, and what you learned as a part of this experience.

Please structure your symposium pitch to include the following:

Introduction
- Who are you? (Hi, I’m (name) majoring in…)
- Role on project (How did you contribute?)
What is your project about? (We partnered with (company) and our project goal was…)
Why is it important? (For a non-technical person, why would this project matter to them?)
Who does it impact? (How will your project work be used or what key learnings did it generate for your corporate partner?)
What have you learned? (Because of this work, I discovered…)

Guidelines

You are limited to 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- 1 minute minimum.
You must have your camera on when recording your pitch.
- You must be in the video
Pitch must be in spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps, or songs)

Record your Video

For information on how to record your video review How to Record Video page.

Rubric

Here is the rubric that will be used to grade your symposium pitch:

Category	Needs Significant Improvement (60%)	Needs Improvement (75%)	Meets Expectations (90%)	Exceeds Expectations (100%)
Introduction (14 points)	The student did not provide an introduction	The student did not provide both name and role on project.	The student provided an introduction with name and role on project.	The student provided an introduction with name and role on project and was able to connect with the audience.
Project Overview (30 points)	The student did not provide a project overview.	The students project overview was unclear and did not provide a clear understanding of the project.	The students project overview was clear and provided a good understanding of the project.	The students project overview was clear, concise, engaging, and explained why the project is important.
Technical Jargon (14 points)	The student used a lot of technical jargon that was not explained.	The student used some technical jargon that was not explained.	The student used minimal technical jargon that was not explained.	The student did not use any technical jargon or all technical jargon was explained.
Time (14 points)	The pitch exceeded the time limit by more than 30 seconds.	The pitch was 20 seconds over or under the time limit.	The pitch was 10 seconds over or under the time limit.	The pitch was between a minute and a minute and a half long.
Tone (14 points)	The student was monotone and sounds like they were reading off a script.	The student sounds nervous and not enthusiastic about their project.	The student sounds confident and enthusiastic.	The student sounded very confident, enthusiastic, and passionate about their project.
Body Language & Eye Contact (14 points)	The student was not facing the camera.	The student was facing the camera but did not make eye contact and had poor body language (slouching).	The student was facing the camera, made eye contact, and had good body language.	The student was facing the camera, made eye contact, had good body language, and used hand gestures or other methods to emphasize points.

Category

Needs Significant Improvement (60%)

Needs Improvement (75%)

Meets Expectations (90%)

Exceeds Expectations (100%)

Introduction (14 points)

The student did not provide an introduction

The student did not provide both name and role on project.

The student provided an introduction with name and role on project.

The student provided an introduction with name and role on project and was able to connect with the audience.

Project Overview (30 points)

The student did not provide a project overview.

The students project overview was unclear and did not provide a clear understanding of the project.

The students project overview was clear and provided a good understanding of the project.

The students project overview was clear, concise, engaging, and explained why the project is important.

Technical Jargon (14 points)

The student used a lot of technical jargon that was not explained.

The student used some technical jargon that was not explained.

The student used minimal technical jargon that was not explained.

The student did not use any technical jargon or all technical jargon was explained.

Time (14 points)

The pitch exceeded the time limit by more than 30 seconds.

The pitch was 20 seconds over or under the time limit.

The pitch was 10 seconds over or under the time limit.

The pitch was between a minute and a minute and a half long.

Tone (14 points)

The student was monotone and sounds like they were reading off a script.

The student sounds nervous and not enthusiastic about their project.

The student sounds confident and enthusiastic.

The student sounded very confident, enthusiastic, and passionate about their project.

Body Language & Eye Contact (14 points)

The student was not facing the camera.

The student was facing the camera but did not make eye contact and had poor body language (slouching).

The student was facing the camera, made eye contact, and had good body language.

The student was facing the camera, made eye contact, had good body language, and used hand gestures or other methods to emphasize points.