Competition Guidelines

1. Participation and Team Formation Guidelines

1.1 The competition is open for undergraduates and recent graduates across all universities and Higher Education Institutes in Sri Lanka.

1.2 If the student is a recent graduate, the effective date of the degree should be after 01/01/2024.

1.3 The team must consist of 2 to 3 participants, with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3.

1.4 Team members may or may not be from the same university or higher education institution.

1.5 Teams can include only undergraduates, only recent graduates, or a mix of both.

1.6 A participant can be part of only one team.

1.7 Undergraduates should confirm their student status by submitting a scanned copy of their university ID. Recent graduates should provide either a transcript specifying the degree’s effective date or a letter from the Department Head/Registrar/Assistant Registrar/ Head of Institution confirming the degree’s effective date.

2. Competition Task

2.1 There are two case studies available. Descriptions for Case Study 1 and Case Study 2 can be viewed by hovering over the respective tabs.

2.2 Upon registration, datasets for both case studies will be provided.

2.3 Each team needs to select one case study and conduct analysis to achieve its listed objectives.

2.4 Based on their analysis, each team should submit the following documents: 1) abstract, 2) digital copy of the poster, 3) 10-minutes video presentation, 4) printed copy of the poster according to the dimensions specified in 5.1, 5) Programming codes written for analysis to ensure the reproducibility of results.

2.5 See sections 4-5 for abstract, poster and video presentation guidelines.

2.6 Each case study will have first, second, and third place winners selected.

3. Important Dates

Date Task
November 4, 2024 - November 17, 2024 Competition registration period
November 17, 2024 11:59PM Registration closes
November 13, 2024 Pre-competition workshop by the IWMI
December 5, 2024 11:59PM Deadline for the submission (case study abstract, poster, 10-minute video presentation)
December 28, 2024 3:00PM - 5:30PM at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo Poster Display and Evaluation at ISC 2024

4. Abstract Guidelines

  • Please only capitalise the first word and pronouns in your Paper Title

  • Make sure you include all the authors and their organisation details in the abstract

  • Highlight the corresponding author by placing *

  • Use “Times New Roman” for all text including headings.

  • Use the Normal style for all text (style-normal) where possible in preference to “Body text” styles. Normal text should be 12 point with single line spacing.

  • Margins should be set at 1 inch all round.

  • Your abstract must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document and PDF document.

  • Only one A4 page is permitted.

  • Click here to view the abstract template.

5. Poster Guidelines

5.1 Poster Dimensions:

  • The poster must adhere to the specified dimensions outlined by the committee as below.

  • Poster must be portrait oriented.

  • Dimensions: 5 ft x 2 ft (height x width).

  • You will not be able to paste it or hang it to any of the walls or stands in the conference venue. Hence, your poster will be a standing poster. The stand will be provided by the conference organizers if required.

  • If your team requires a stand, please inform the Institute of Applied Statistics, Sri Lanka by email. Email Address: appstatsl@gmail.com

  • Teams are responsible for printing their posters; organizers will not be responsible for poster printing.

  • The image below shows a sample standing poster layout, providing a reference for the desired appearance of the final output.

5.2 Design Considerations:

  • While there are no specific font sizes or types, ensure that text is legible from a distance. Use a balanced layout that allows for easy navigation through the content.

  • Utilize appropriate colors and graphics to enhance readability and visual appeal. Avoid overcrowding your poster; leave ample white space for a clean look.

  • Be mindful of color contrasts, ensuring that all text and visuals are easily distinguishable.

5.3 Poster contents:

Your poster should include the following sections:

Title: It is recommended to keep the title of the poster the same as in the submitted abstract. It should be prominently displayed at the top of the poster.

Author(s) and Affiliation(s): List all authors along with their respective institutions. Include the corresponding author’s email address for inquiries.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Team name and Email addresses of all members

6. 10-minutes Video Presentation Guidelines

6.1 our video presentation should be organized into the following sections, ensuring that you stay within the 10-minute time limit: i) Cover: Title and team members, ii) Introduction, iii) Methods, iv) Results, v) Discussion, vi) Conclusions, Acknowledgements

6.2 You are allowed to use slides to enhance your presentation. Make sure that your slides are clear, concise, and visually appealing.

6.3 Adhere strictly to the 10-minute time limit. Video presentations longer than 10 minutes will not be evaluated.

6.4 Ensure that your video is of good quality, with clear audio and visuals.

7. Other important rules

  1. All teams must present their poster on December 28, 2024, from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, Sri Lanka. Only those who present are eligible for the final awards.

  2. Posters with low quality, plagiarism, data fabrication, or any form of copying will result in disqualification, and teams will not be invited to present at ISC 2024.

  3. Final decisions will be made by the judges.

  4. All participants are required to regularly check the website- Announcements page, as important notices will be posted there!

  5. If any data quality issues arise (such as missing data, outliers, etc.), teams should address them independently and not direct those queries to the organizing committee. Please clearly outline the methods you used to handle these issues on your poster.