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Proposal Deadline: Wednesday, February 23, 2024

Daemen University is pleased to announce the campus-wide 2024 Academic Festival to be held on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The Festival is a celebration of the academic year through student presentations, exhibitions and performances. Students from all majors and faculty members will have the opportunity to present their academic and artistic achievements to the University community. Because students and faculty should attend the Academic Festival, classes will not be held between 8 AM and 4 PM. Other special campus events will be scheduled in conjunction with the Festival.  

The 2024 Festival is the 20th year for this event.

Faculty Sponsorship

Each student proposal must receive a faculty sponsor's approval in order to be accepted by the Academic Festival Committee. You should consult with a faculty member prior to submitting a proposal. The faculty sponsor will provide guidance to support your preparation of a project, discussing your work-in-progress and offering suggestions for improvement. The faculty sponsor should determine that your work is of acceptable quality, based on the standards of that academic discipline. Your project should also meet all of the criteria appropriate to the submission category.


Your Project

Projects may take a variety of forms and may be presented individually, in groups and in collaboration with faculty members.  The Festival has been scheduled to accommodate work completed in either 2023 or 2024 semesters. Your project may be based on a term paper, class projects, senior theses, service-learning project, research or independent study project, or internships. Presentations may also include art displays, musical or theatrical performances. Need ideas? Look at the program from last year's Academic Festival.


Presentation Formats

Presentation - This is a presentation given jointly by 1 or 2 people (please supply the name of the other presenter on the submission form). You will be able to give a 20 minute presentation in a seminar/classroom setting in front of a group of faculty & students. You may use computers, technology or displays to enhance your presentation. You may ask for questions from the audience. Please see suggestions.

Group Presentation - This is a presentation given by 3 or more people. Depending on the size of the group, you will be given approximately 40 minutes for your presentation(s) on your project or experience. You should divide up time for each person. Submit your proposal with the names and emails of everyone involved. You may use computers, technology or displays to enhance your group talk. If you will need more than 40 minutes, please state this on your proposal.

Poster Presentation - Prepare your information on a large printed poster (a template is on this website), which will be tacked on a large exhibit board. Posters will be displayed on exhibit boards in Lumsden Gym during the Poster Session (9:00 – 10:30 AM).  There may be 100 - 120 other posters displayed at this session. You are expected to stand in front of your poster for the entire time, to discuss your project. If you are submitting a project with another person, add that person’s name and email to your proposal.  See requirements for poster sessions. 

Deadline for the final poster proof at Daemen Print Shop is 4:30 PM on Friday, April 17, 2020. Nothing can be accepted after this time. Please send to printing@daemen.edu. Posters cost $50, and you will receive $10 off if the final proof is received by 4:30 PM on Friday, April 17.

Debate - Each group will have 40 minutes total. This debate must represent at two conflicting viewpoints. The group will provide its own moderator. Time should be allotted within the 40 minute block. Only one proposal form should be submitted. All participant's names must be provided.

Exhibit - Describe your project or design, type of location requested, and special requirements. Exhibits should be displayed for the entire day. You will be scheduled for a 20 minute artist talk as part of your exhibit. Please prepare a one page "Exhibit Notes" handout.

Performance - Time allotted may be 20 minutes, 40 minutes or 1 hour. Describe the project or design, type of location requested, and special requirements. Names and e-mail addresses of all participants must be provided

Other - Describe the project or design, the time and type of location requested, and special requirements. Names and e-mail addresses of participants must be provided.


Preparing Your Proposals

All proposals must be submitted electronically from this web site. The Abstract is a brief paragraph describing your project. Please limit your description to 150 words. We cannot accept handwritten or typed Proposal Forms. The actual projects or presentations do not need to be finished when the Proposal Form is submitted, although the abstract must be complete. All abstracts will be published in the Academic Festival booklet.

In March, you will receive confirmation of the time and location for your presentation. You must be responsible for sharing this information with co-presenters or team members. Any substantial changes to a Proposal must be brought to the committee’s attention as soon as possible. If there are any problems in submitting your proposal, contact Special Events at 839-8527.


Steps for Submitting a Proposal

  1. Please complete the Proposal Form with all the contact information requested and include your completed Abstract.
  2. Select submit and form will be sent to the Academic Festival Committee. You should receive an automatic reply upon submission. If a section of your Form has not been completed, you will receive notice so that you may provide the missing information. Your faculty sponsor will automatically receive notice of your Proposal.
  3. Ask your Faculty Sponsor to send approval to the Academic Festival Committee. No action can be taken on your Proposal until this formal approval has been received from your faculty sponsor.
  4. Proposals are due no later than Wednesday, February 23, 2024. No exceptions so please plan ahead.
  5. Watch the Festival website for more information!