GUIDELINES FOR THE JUDGES 

The DOST-Science Education Institute, in collaboration with the ASTHRDP-National Science Consortium, will hold the 14th ASTHRDP Graduate Scholars’ Conference with the theme “Science and Technology that works for the people” on 17-18 September 2026 at Iloilo City, Western Visayas. 

This annual conference is a venue for ASTHRDP scholars to present their research outputs, build networks and further their knowledge of the trends and developments in science and technology that will enable them to contribute more significantly to the scientific community and specifically to Filipino society. 

1. Categories: Poster presentations are grouped into five categories:

a. Category 1. Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (Agriculture, Forestry, Crop Science, Animal Science, Agricultural Science, Fisheries, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Science, Climate Science, Ecology and Marine Science)

b. Category 2. Biological and Health Sciences (Biology, Biotechnology, Health and Pharmaceutical Sciences)

c. Category 3. Physical Sciences (Chemical, Earth and Atmospheric, Space, Material Science, Nanotech, Pure and Applied Physics)

d. Category 4. Mathematical and Computational Sciences (Information Technology, Computer Science, Communications, Statistics, Pure and Applied Mathematics)

2. Composition:   Each category will have three (3) Judges. 

3. Responsibilities: The tasks of the Judges are as follows: 

a. Prejudge the posters prior to the conference; may short list.

b. Score the posters according to the given criteria; and

c. Submit the score sheets to the Secretariat Committee not later than 12:00     

              PM on the second day.

4. Schedule: The schedule of the poster presentations is shown below. The Judges must be in the venue 15 minutes prior to the presentations. 

Table 1. Schedule of Poster Presentations

Date	Time (Philippine Time)
17 September 2026	5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
18 September 2026	11:00 AM – 12:00 NN

5. Criteria: The judging criteria are as follows:

Table 2. Criteria for Poster Judging

Criterion		Distribution
Content and Contribution (55%)	Originality, Innovativeness	25%
	Quality and quantity of work	30%
Poster and Presentation (45%)	Design and visual impact of the poster	20%
	Knowledge; Ability to answer questions and explain the work with experts and non-experts	25%
Total		100%

a. The judges shall exercise their professional judgment regarding the correctness of the poster and the ability of the presenter to present  his/her ideas. On the other hand, if the Judge is not knowledgeable in the field, he/she should assess the presenter’s ability to explain the work to a non-expert. 

b. If the study is done by a group, the Judges should ask the presenter about his/her specific contribution to the research.

c. The presenter should indicate what new ideas or contributions are being presented. 

6. Judging of the Poster Presentations:

a. Prejudging: The judges are encouraged to prejudge the posters prior to the conference so they will have ample time to understand the  work and formulate questions for the presenters. The posters will be available for prejudging at least a week before the conference. Assigned judges will be notified once the poster presentations have been uploaded and are ready for review.

b. Presentation Proper: Judges shall proceed to the posters within their assigned category and engage with the presenters to evaluate the research work. Given the number of posters to be assessed, judges are encouraged to allocate a reasonable and sufficient amount of time to each poster to ensure a fair and comprehensive evaluation.

In addition, all judges are expected to visit each poster during the poster presentation session. Judges shall engage with every scholar-presenter by asking questions related to the study and assessing the presenter’s understanding, communication skills, and ability to respond to inquiries. This on-site interaction shall form part of the overall evaluation of the poster presentation.

The score sheets, pencils, and folders shall be provided by the Secretariat Committee during the conference.

7.Selection of Winners: After the presentations, the Judges will convene with the Secretariat Committee to deliberate the scores. The score sheets must be submitted not later than 12:00 PM on the second day. 

Two (2) poster presentation winners (1 PhD, 1 MS) will be selected per scientific category.

8. Orientation: There will be a virtual orientation for the Judges prior to the conference. Meeting details will be announced via email.

9. Inquiries: For further inquiries please contact us at 09171559398 and 09778550882. You can also email us at asthrdp@upv.edu.ph.