Lightning Talks and Poster Sessions - Instructions

New Announcement: Poster & Lightning Talk Sessions

The conference will feature three poster sessions and two lightning talk sessions as follows:

  1. Lightning Talk Session 1 (Tuesday, 8:15 – 9:30) Accompanied by Poster Session 1 (Tuesday, 16:00 – 17:50)
  2. Lightning Talk Session 2 (Wednesday, 8:00 – 9:00) Accompanied by Poster Session 2 (Wednesday, 16:10 – 18:00)
    • These events are only for accepted short papers (from any track), demo papers, and invited ACM TSAS highlight papers.
    • Poster and lightning talk presentations are mandatory for short papers of any track, demo papers, and invited ACM TSAS papers. Papers without poster and lightning talk presented during the conference will be removed from the conference proceedings.
    • Please check the detailed conference program to see the exact session for your paper/demo.
    • To prepare your poster, lightning talk, or demo, please follow the preparation instructions below.
  3. Poster Session during the Conference Reception (Tuesday, 19:00 – 23:00)
    • This poster reception is exclusive to accepted full research papers of the research, application, and industry tracks.
    • As this is the first multi-track ACM SIGSPATIAL conference, full paper presenters will not present to the entire audience in regular sessions. To address this, the reception poster session gives all full papers the chance to showcase their work to the entire audience.
    • Participation is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory. For space planning, please inform your track chair of your participation.
    • To prepare your poster, please follow the poster preparation instructions listed below.
    • There will be no lightning talk for the posters in this event.

Local Poster Printing Information

Q: Can non-UMN affiliated people print at the print center?
A: Yes, but they have to pay with cash or card. UMN accounts can pay with an EFS string.

Q: How long does it take to print a poster of size 36″ × 48″?
A: Around an hour.

Q: How much does it cost to print a 36″ × 48″ poster?
A: $96.

Q: Can the UMN Print Center handle around 100 poster printing jobs around the date of the conference?
A: Not a problem. If they get too much work, they would spread the load between their two centers (one is in Coffman Union and the other is on Como Ave) and can serve these many requests without issues.

Q: What is the procedure to print?
A: People must send an email to cmucc@umn.edu containing a PDF of the poster.

Q: Are reservations needed to print?
A: Not needed. They just send the email.

Q: What are the hours of the print center?
A: 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM, but the bookstore opens at 8:30 AM, so before 8 AM they need to come through the Starbucks door.

The poster sessions are the places where authors of Full Papers, Short Papers (from all tracks), Demonstration Papers and invited ACM TSAS Papers showcase their work and meet with interested attendees for in-depth technical discussions. Hence, it is important that you shape your work in an attractive way and keep your message clear and noticeable to attract people who might have an interest in your work. Please carefully follow the instructions below.

POSTER PREPARATION

All Short Papers (from any track) Demo Papers, and invited ACM TSAS Papers must prepare a poster to be displayed during the appropriate Poster Session corresponding to a Lightning Talk session as indicated in the program (https://sigspatial2025.sigspatial.org/program). Authors of Full Papers (from Research, Applications, and Industry tracks) can optionally prepare a poster and present it during the Conference Reception.

Note: The poster presentation for Short Papers, Demo Papers, and invited ACM TSAS is mandatory; without a poster presented during the conference the paper will be removed from the conference proceedings.

The size of your poster should be no more than 36 inches wide and 48 inches tall, and in portrait orientation. The front desk will provide you with material to attach it to the poster stands. Please do not make a poster larger than the recommended size.

Carefully design your poster. We request that each poster contain:

  • Only for posters for Short Papers, Demo Papers, and invited ACM TSAS Papers: The poster should contain the poster ID. Please find your poster ID for your paper at https://sigspatial2025.sigspatial.org/sessions/. The poster ID consists of a paper number with a suffix that indicates the track: S (short paper track), R (research track), D (demonstration track), A (application track), and T (TSAS track).

  • For all posters: The poster should contain the title, authors, and affiliations.

    You need to print your poster and bring it to the conference. On the day of your poster session, approach the registration desk for instructions on when and where to set up your poster.

VIDEO PREPARATION for Lightning Talks Session

For each Short Paper, Demo Paper, and invited ACM TSAS Paper there will also be a short video presentation during one of the two Lighting Talks sessions. Your lightning talk video presentation will be on the same day as your poster presentation. During the lightning talk sessions, short videos -- without audio! -- are played while the presenter has a chance of saying a few words. While your video is on display, you are expected to do some marketing for your poster. Your time on stage is limited by the length of the video, as the next video will immediately start after the previous video is completed - so keep in time.

Note: The lightning talk presentation is mandatory; without a lightning talk being presented by one of the authors during the conference the paper will be removed from the conference proceedings.

The videos must be prepared in Full HD resolution using MPEG4 and a sufficiently high quality, without (!) audio. We encourage you to use two or three slides to showcase the poster and attract people to your poster. PowerPoint slides can be set to play automatically and exported to a suitable video. Remember to start the video with content that takes into account that you have to step up to the stage and grab the microphone. For example, a first slide with title, poster ID, name, affiliation information for about 30 seconds is good practice. The remaining time can be used for one or two more slides or videos. The maximum time per video is 85 seconds.

We will announce a video upload link via email including more technical information. Video presentation is mandatory and videos have to be submitted by October 27, 2025.

During the lightning talk sessions, in order to facilitate a smooth transition between presentations, presenters of lightning talks should arrive early and must sit in the area designated for lightning talk presenters in the seat indicated by their poster ID.

DEMO PREPARATION

The presenters of demo papers should bring their own laptops and devices. Wireless Internet will be available throughout the conference venue. We will try to provide demo paper authors with access to electrical outlets, but please prepare for the scenario where they may not be available to you. If you definitely need power, contact us in advance such that we can arrange with the hotel! The presenter should prepare a demonstration of their system that they can periodically give to those assembled around their table throughout the poster session.

SHORT PAPER and DEMO Awards

In order to encourage the authors of papers in the short paper and demo tracks to participate in the conference and introduce their work, the ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS organizing committee has instituted awards for authors, which will be honored during the banquet.