Judging criteria

This year, The University of Auckland competition will be structured in heats with a University final in August, and The University of Queensland will host the Trans-Tasman final competition in October.

The presentations will be judged by a panel of experts. The judges will comment on the quality of the presentations. The entrants will be judged on the following criteria:

Was the thesis topic and its significance communicated in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience?

• Did the title of the talk give a clear picture of the topic and its importance?
• Were all technical or specialist words clearly explained for a non-specialist audience?
• Was the communication style clear enough so that any intelligent person could now sum up the topic and its significance?

Did the presentation help the audience understand the research?

• Did the speaker deliver their presentation at an appropriate pace?
• Was there a storyline that helped the audience understand the research problem, its importance and how the research would or did address that problem?
• Did the PowerPoint slide help the audience better understand the topic and its significance?

Did the oration make the audience want to know more?

• Did the speaker engage the audience with eye contact?
• Did the speaker engage interest in the problem being researched?
• Would you now like to join this research for further discussion about their work?
   

Grand final judges will be advised closer to event date.

Grand final judges 2011
We would like to thank the following judges who gave their time and expertise to the 2011 final heat.

Associate Professor Caroline Daley
Dean of Graduate Studies
The University of Auckland

Nikki Kaye
MP for Auckland Central
National Party

Professor Brad Jackson
Fletcher Building Education Trust Chair in Leadership
The University of Auckland