Friday Forum Webinar Presenter Information

Alumni Presenter Information & Instructions

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Thank you for your interest in giving back to the University by sharing topics of interest with your fellow alums and friends of the University!

The Friday Forum Webinar series is designed to provide alumni with information to enhance professional and personal success through continual learning and career development resources. In addition to career, job search, and graduate school-related presentations, we welcome topics in industry areas such as publishing, non-profit, advertising, and more, and in skill areas such as leadership, communications skills, social media, financial acumen, etc. Of course, there are also life passages, political and economic events and how they impact success… the list goes on!

Our experience is that U.Va. alumni consistently have good information to share. We welcome your proposed presentation topics!

Contact Information:

Mary Ann Stumbaugh
Data Systems Analyst
Associate Director, Alumni Career Services
maryann@virginia.edu
434.243.9017

PROPOSE A PRESENTATION

  • Prepare a topic outline for your presentation, along with a brief description of your background and experience with the topic.
  • Submit the online Webinar Proposal Form.
  • If your topic and background fit our current webinar plans, you will be contacted to schedule your presentation and to submit a release form and marketing information. Consideration of topics is based on topic relevance, industry trends, and scheduling needs

PREPARE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION

  • We market webinars through the Alumni Association main page, the Alumni Career Services webpage, the U.Va. Alumni Group on LinkedIn, the Alumni Career Services Facebook page, Young Alumni Council, and other Alumni-related channels. We encourage you to let your U.Va. friends and colleagues know about your presentation as well.
  • Friday Forums are scheduled for 60 minutes; presenting 33-40 minutes of specific content with concrete examples engages the audience and leaves enough time for interaction and questions.
  • In planning your presentation, consider when you want to answer questions. To stay on track, it is most effective to address questions at the end of your presentation. If your presentation is in sections, consider 1 or 2 designated break points.
  • Alumni Career Services uses Blackboard Collaborate, an interactive and collaborative platform that allows real-time participation in webinars over the internet.
    • Users access the webinar session using a specific web address given to registrants, speakers, and moderators.
    • You can conduct a webinar anywhere you have wired access to the Internet, a webcam, and headphones with a microphone. Consider how you and the background will look on camera: lighting, camera placement, and maybe some UVa paraphernalia.
  • We will schedule at least two practice sessions during the month preceding your scheduled Friday Forum webinar. The first session is a technical check, and the second is a dress rehearsal.

Technical Requirements

  • You will need headphones with an integrated mike. No earbuds, and no speakers. Using speakers instead of headphones results in an unpleasant audio delay/echo.
  • Please make sure that you have updated versions of any necessary software and that your audio and video are configured appropriately, by checking the Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing System Requirements at the following webpage: https://blackboard.secure.force.com/apex/publickbarticleview?id=kAB700000008P8m.
  • You need to have a wired internet connection. You should NOT be on a wifi network; using a wireless network can result in audio and video problems.
  • Your presentation slides must be PowerPoint .ppt format. Please note that your slides should not include any animation; PowerPoint animations are NOT supported. We will need a final copy of your slides 48 hours before your webinar.

PRESENT YOUR WEBINAR

  • We would like you to be signed on between 11:00 – 11:30am EST for a noon webinar.
  • During your presentation, please refrain from directly selling or marketing products or services with which you are associated. You are welcome to tastefully present your business or publications.
  • The moderator will introduce you and turn the presentation over to you; when your presentation is over, the moderator will thank you and after some housekeeping details, end the session.

AFTER THE WEBINAR

  • Your webinar will be recorded, and the recording will be made available for viewing online and offline in one or more multimedia file formats in an email to registrants and on our website.
  • Some presenters are willing to hear from alumni and other registrants after a webinar to answer questions or conduct other follow-up. If you wish to do so, we recommend you include your contact information in your presentation and let the participants ask questions during the session.
  • Confidentiality policies prevent us from providing you with contact information of alumni who attend your presentation for use on listservs and/or for solicitation purposes. Separate from the presentation, participants may choose to opt-in to email lists or provide their emails directly at their discretion should you provide an opportunity.