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Judging process and criteria for Tow Awards

Initial ranking of abstracts and selection of submissions for oral presentation

Nominations for the awards will be formally considered by the Tow Research Awards Committee, which will determine the eligibility of applicants and select the best abstracts in the Clinical, Basic Science, ILP & Honours, and Nurse/Midwife/Allied Health Divisions for oral presentation during the Tow Research Awards Day. When necessary, external reviewers will be obtained. In addition, all nominations of an acceptable standard that are not chosen for an oral presentation will be eligible to present a scientific poster for display during the Awards Day.

Format of oral presentations

Oral presentations are to be strictly 10 minutes long, followed by five minutes for questions.

Judging of oral presentations for the Research Divisions

Judging of oral presentations during the Tow Research Awards Day will be carried out by panels of independent judges appointed by the Tow Research Awards Committee. The Panels will include assessors internal and external to the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct and may include some members of the Tow Research Awards Committee. The final assessment for the research awards in each division is based on

  1. Scientific merit
  2. Originality of the material presented
  3. The part played in the work by the presenter
  4. The mode of presentation, including innovative use of multimedia
  5. The presenter’s response to questions.

Applicants must be present to give the oral presentation in order to be eligible to win an award. However, the Tow Research Awards Committee will consider virtual presentations on a case-by-case basis.

Judging for the Case Presentation

Emphasis will be placed in judging:

  1. the general interest and interdisciplinary nature of the selected case,
  2. the mode of presentation and the presenter’s response to questions
  3. the innovative use of multimedia in the presentations

Applicants must be present to give the oral presentation in order to be eligible to win an award. However, the Tow Research Awards Committee will consider virtual presentations on a case-by-case basis.

Judging for the Poster Division

Applicants will have the opportunity to present their work to panels of judges who will circulate during the Poster Session of the Tow Research Awards Day.

The Poster Prizes are judged on:

  1. the visual impact of the poster
  2. its ability to communicate the scientific material
  3. the scientific merit of the data presented.

The majority of the design and preparation of the poster should be undertaken by the applicant, although expert advice and assistance (e.g. from a graphic artist) is permissible. Such assistance must be acknowledged on the poster. This Prize will be awarded to an applicant who did not receive an award in any of the first five divisions.

Applicants must be present at the Poster Session in order to be eligible to win an award. However, the Tow Research Awards Committee absenteeism of the applicant on a case-by-case basis.