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2026 Midwest Russian, East European and Eurasian (REEE) Undergraduate Lightning Talks

Student present a lightning talk
Sat, March 28, 2026
3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
Blackwell Inn and Conference Center

The Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies at The Ohio State University is excited to host the 2026 Midwest REEE Lightning Talks, held in conjunction with the 2026 Midwest Slavic Conference. Lightning talks are short, fast-paced presentations (3–5 minutes) that allow undergraduate students to showcase their research, creative work, or projects in a concise format designed to spark conversation and collaboration. This event offers a dynamic platform for students conducting guided research in any discipline related to Eastern Europe and Eurasia to practice communicating their work to a diverse audience.

Eligibility

This event is open to undergraduate students who are or have conducted guided research with a faculty member from their home institution. Additionally, students who have submitted a paper proposal to the Midwest Slavic Conference but have been recommended to present a lightning talk by the conference review committee are also eligible. Students may present either a paper OR a lightning talk during the conference, but not both. All participating students must register for the conference as student presenters, but are eligible to request a registration waiver from the Young Scholars of Slavic Studies fund.

Format

For ease of accessibility, students are asked to create a presentation (maximum of 4 PowerPoint slides, inclusive of a title slide). On March 28, presenters will give a 3-5-minute oral presentation of their research to a panel of two judges and audience members (faculty, students, and members of the general public). Each judge will ask each student one question and assess their presentations.

Judging Criteria

All talks will be judged out of 25 points for the following criteria: aesthetic design/readability (5 points), quality of oral delivery (5 points), clarity of argument (5 points), strength of evidence, and originality of research (5 points).

Want to submit a proposal?

Participants must submit their poster idea, title, and general abstract (5-6 sentences) of their topic and argument to CSEEES (cseees@osu.edu) by Friday, January 23, 11:59 PM in order to be considered eligible. Only 8 poster presentations will be selected due to time constraints. More details can be found by scanning the QR code. If you have additional questions, please send them to cseees@osu.edu.