The College Undergraduate Research coordinators, along with the Office of Research, have come together for the Creativity Activity Conference which will be held at Bryant Conference Center on April 11 from 2-6 p.m. following registration from 10 a.m-1 p.m.

The conference will showcase undergraduate student presentations from almost every college. The deadline to submit an application is March 7.

“The original creators of this conference enjoyed the idea of students presenting their research at a competitive level and decided the University of Alabama should host its own,” said Rachel Rindo, coordinator at the Office of Research.  “Its creation was also due to the fact that there are competitive undergraduate research events across the country on many college campuses.”

The conference began in 2002 for undergraduates as a way to allow students to show their research ideas. Since then, the conference has grown in size and notability.

“This conference is increasing every year with more students coming to participate,” said Lauren Wilson, senior associate director at the Office for Sponsored Programs.

The conference was originally intended for students from the College of Arts and Sciences. Now, though, the participating colleges range across all disciplines. Each college will have its own division and will give the winners prizes and awards. For the conference, the participants can either do an oral or poster presentation, according to the undergraduate research and creativity activity website.

“We will be giving out $4,000 worth of prizes this year,” Wilson said.

Two years ago, the conference was held at the Ferguson Center, but for space reasons, it was moved to the Bryant Conference Center.

“We will be using every room at the Bryant Conference Center,” Wilson said. “The conference had over 300 participants last year and is growing.”

A new addition to the conference will be the University’s libraries awarding prizes in Humanities and Social Sciences division for the best presentations, according to lib.ua.edu.

The expansion of the conference has demanded that the representatives ask for help from students who are willing to aid in the preparation.

“We are looking for student volunteers to help with the Creativity Activity Conference, and they can sign up through [slpro.ua.edu],” Wilson said. “We are going to need those volunteering at the Bryant Conference Center around 10 a.m. that day.”

Fast Facts

Application deadline is March 7

The conference will be held April 11 in the Bryant Conference Center

$4,000 in prizes will be awarded to the students with the best research projects