For the ninth year in a row, Wisconsin’s Capitol building will be hosting the undergraduate Posters In the Rotunda research convention this Wednesday. 

According to a statement from the University of Wisconsin System, Posters In the Rotunda is an event in which undergraduate students will have an opportunity to display poster presentations of their own original research to state legislators and leaders. 

The statement also said that the program will include students from all over the UW System, including the University of Wisconsin, and the display of students’ posters will last until 3 p.m. 

The program’s feature speaker will be Kenneth Chong, a UW-Superior senior and winner of the 2011 UW Center of Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education Student of the Year Award.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the importance of students presenting their research projects to state legislators lies in the exposure of students’ work to the public and its leaders. 

“In my personal experience, the young men and young women that present are always very impressive, and a lot of people are taken aback,” Giroux said. 

The impact the undergraduate research program Posters In the Rotunda has on its students is a huge benefit, Giroux said. 

Posters in the Rotunda is also exploring the use of social media. Giroux, as well as the UW System, released notes on the first use of Twitter during this year’s Poster in Rotunda, using the hashtag #UWPosters. 

Giroux explained this as being a new aspect of the event with the hope that it will be ble to generate conversations about the event on Twitter. Participants are able to also hashtag the names of different legislators they meet to help spur interest and conversation on Twitter, Giroux said. 

 “This kind of thing, research shows, increases successfulness,” Giroux said. “Students that participate in undergraduate research are more likely to stay and finish school and graduate faster.” 

The six students presenting under UW were hand-chosen previously, said Aaron Brower, vice provost for education and learning. Brower said UW hosts a similar event before Posters In the Rotunda called the Undergraduate Symposium.

Out of the 400 students who present their research at the Undergraduate Symposium, six are chosen to represent UW at Posters In the Rotunda. 

Similar to Giroux, Brower believes that research is one of the most important factors, especially in the case of UW. He also said it is very important to be able to relate classroom and course studies to real life scenarios and to be able to work side-by-side with world-known researchers.

 “Students take the best advantage of college not just through course work, but doing a wide variety of experiences relating to their interest, research being one of them, and applying it to real life,” Brower said. “It is a part of the Wisconsin experience.”