OFKD2018 Call for papers

16th National Higher Education Student Conference for Environmental Science
May 10-12, 2018

Dear Students and Colleagues!

You are cordially invited to participate at the 16th National Higher Education Student Conference for Environmental Science organized by Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Center for Environmental Studies. A technical and financial back-office (Weco Travel Ltd.) helps our work.
You may apply by a 20-50 pages scientific dissertation or artwork prepared in the field of environmental science in its broadest sense (general environmental and sustainability issues; environmental status assessment or measurement; development of environmental technologies; regulation and legislation measures; theoretical considerations; artwork related to the environment etc.) and prepared in the second semester of the academic year 2015/2016, or in the academic years 2016/2017 or 2017/2018 by non-PhD students enrolled in a Hungarian higher education institution. Though the basic language of OFKD2018 is Hungarian, we are to organize sessions also in English for those students who do not speak Hungarian. In these sessions both, the presentation, discussion and evaluation will be managed in English.
Colleagues, especially supervisors are strongly encouraged to stimulate their students for participation at the OFKD2018!
The conditions to accept and evaluate a dissertation are: i. the presentation of a relevant environmental, sustainability or nature conservation etc. topic, ii. the presentation of independent and original work and results, and iii. the dissertation has passed through earlier any kind of evaluation (e.g. thesis review, former oral presentation at a scientific session / conference, institutional student competition).
Depending on the number and topic of the submitted dissertations sessions will be organized by the Scientific Committee of the Conference with around 10 presentations each (e.g. environmental legislation, environmental education, nature conservation and biodiversity, atmospheric physics and chemistry, environmental studies in agriculture).
The 16th National Higher Education Student Conference for Environmental Science is an opportunity to introduce you to the Hungarian environmental science researcher community, and is also a kind of fair to those who are interested in PhD studies. But, dissertations / presenters are eligible to prizes, too. The Evaluation Committee (Scientific Jury) will earmark the top quarter of the dissertations / presentations. Prizes are funded by the sponsors of the OFKD2018. Prizes rank the most excellent among the best!
Sustainability and unpolluted environment is our concerted responsibility. Students do the utmost to a sustainable environment by knowledge-shearing. Come and participate at this important celebration and competition of environmental science at ELU!

Registration:

- Visit the homepage of ELU Environmental Science Education (http://environment.elte.hu) and click on the OFKD2018 menu on the right edge of the ribbon. This will guide you to the homepage of the 16th National Higher Education Student Conference for Environmental Science. Most of the tags are in Hungarian, but those important for you are also in English. Please check the relevant information available under the „Invitation” tag, and you can register by clicking the „Registration” tag.
- Follow the instructions given in the online Registration system. Please give first your personal data and accessibility exactly as needed. The system will send you an email for registration confirmation and will give you individual password.
- In the next round you shall enter the details of your dissertation by adding the title of the dissertation, selecting the Topic and uploading the abstract of your dissertation. You can continue then with specifying the details of the co-authors (if any).
- Submit the abstract latest till March 1, 2018 midnight (24 h CET). The size of the abstract body shall not exceed 3 000 characters (with spaces). It shall not contain figures or tables. At the end of the abstract one shall add the details (name, status, higher education affiliation) of the supervisor(s). We advise you to prepare the abstract body in a word processor, and the perfect copy shall be pasted to the space added in the electronic system.
- The final version of the dissertation organized into one single PDF file shall be filled up no later than March 20, 2018 midnight (24 h CET). The file size shall not exceed 20 MB. Label the file as follows: your name / university / faculty abbreviations (e.g. Desert_Rose_ELU_FacNatSci.pdf). Do not send printed dissertations! In case of artworks add your presentation plans in the „Notes” space allotted.
- After finalizing your personal registration and the entry of the dissertation you may add your preferences of accommodation and meals according to the possibilities and prices indicated in the electronic system.
- Finalize your registration by adding the details of payment.
Once again the terms of participation.
- Personal registration in the electronic system.
- Entry of the dissertation and fill up the documents till deadlines.
- Demonstration of the institutional justification.
- Payment of the entry and registration fee in due time.

Institutional justification:

The institutional justification is an official statement that the dissertation passed through earlier any kind of evaluation, i.e. authorization (e.g. thesis review, former oral presentation at a scientific session, institutional student competition). Justifications shall be issued by the university / faculty / institute. It shall contain the personal data of the student, the title of the dissertation; the personal data of the supervisor(s), and the type, and date of the previous evaluation. Justification shall be officially signed.
Send the institutional justifications to the ofkd2018@gmail.com e-mail address no later than March 20, 2018.

Scientific sessions, jury and review process:

Depending on the number and topic of the entered dissertations sessions will be organized by the Scientific Committee of the Conference with around 10 presentations each. The sessions will be chaired by a three member jury (chairperson and two members). Dissertations will be evaluated by jury members separately. Written and numerical evaluations will be sent to the presenting author by April 27, 2018.

Reviewers evaluate the dissertations regarding the following principles:

- The objectives of the dissertation and their environmental importance. (The accurate and comprehensive description of the topic emphasizing its timeliness and environmental impact.)
- The quality of the literature review. (Indication whether the chapter is merely a record of related investigations, or the author gives a critical evaluation of the relevant literature.)
- The relevance of the applied research methods. (Adequate depth of description of the applied methods. Use of classical and state of the art techniques. Presence of personal developments.)
- Quality of the results and the discussion of the results. (The amount and quality of independent and original results. The level of presentation of the conclusions, the possibilities of practical utilization, the recognition of open questions. Are there novel achievements, or the results corroborate earlier findings, or contradict them.)
- The standard of the summary. (Aptitude to present the essence of the dissertation.)
- Evaluation of the presentation of independent work. (Is it adequately documented in the dissertation?)
- Conformity to formal requirements. (Structure, proportions of the chapters, accomplishment, amount of typists’ errors, quality of illustrations, usage of adequate technical expressions. The adequate application and quality of the bibliography. The size of the dissertation body (title page, table of contents, abbreviations, summaries, reference list, acknowledgments) conforms the limits (not shorter than 20 pages and longer than 50 pages – without Appendix).
The quality of the dissertation will be measured also numerically with a maximum of 50 points.
Oral presentation
Authors of the scientific dissertations give a 15 minute ppt presentation, followed by a 10 minute discussion. Presenting authors shall upload their presentations on the first day of the Student Conference at the registration desk. Standard audio-visual equipment will be provided. Based on the former evaluation of the dissertations, and the quality of presentation authors with the best performance will be awarded by prizes of the Organizing Committee.
Please indicate your special needs for the presentation of artworks when filling in the registration form (e.g. poster display, or postament base), or send it in due time to the organizers by e-mail (ofkd2018@gmail.com).

Principles of the evaluation of the oral presentations are as follows:

- Adequate presentation of the environmental relevance of the research area, and its social context. The grade of the presentation of the applied materials and methods.
- The professionalism of the take home messages or highlights of the results.
- Adaptation to the formal requirement of a presentation (the layout of the slides, visibility and legibility, application of adequate technical expressions, speed of the slide show etc.).
- Evaluation how closely reasoned the presentation is, its clarity, the standard of the presentation, time management during the presentation.
- Is there substantive response to the criticism of the written evaluation of the dissertation in the presentation?
- Evaluation of the discussion. The professionalism of the presenting author in the topic of the dissertation.
The quality of the presentation will be measured numerically with a maximum of 50 points.

Formal requirements of the dissertation:

- Proposed main chapters of the dissertation: title page, table of contents, abbreviations, introduction, goals, literature survey, material and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, summary, acknowledgement, references, attachment / appendix (facultative), declaration on the individual work.
- A declaration on the individual work content of the dissertation is compulsory.
- Proposed general formatting: text body set to 12 pt Times New Roman (CE) fonts with 1.5 spacing, justified. Page setup: margins 2.5 cm on all sides, pagination underneath. The bibliographic references, tables, figures, bibliography should be prepared consequently according to the scheme of a scientific journal or book of the relevant scientific field.
- Please mind the page limits (not shorter than 20 pages and longer than 50 pages, excepting the attachments).

The venue of the conference:

Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, Center for Environmental Science
Budapest, H-1117, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c.

Conference schedule:

May 10-12, 2018. (Thursday-Saturday)

Participation and fees:

The submission fee of a dissertation to the conference is: 5 000 HUF. That fee covers the dissertation management expenses.
The registration fee for students, supervisors, and accompanying persons is 5 000 HUF. That fee includes the badge and conference bag (program booklet, abstracts repertory etc.).
That means, the full participation cost of a one presenting author dissertation is 10 000 HUF (5 000 + 5 000 HUF). For any other registered participant of the conference (co-authors, supervisors, observers etc.) the participation costs is 5 000 HUF only.

Accommodation:

The technical organizer of the conference (Weco Travel Ltd.) provides accommodation for participants in hotels close to the conference venue, if needed. Please indicate your preferences in the electronic registration system where you can see the prices and locations.

Meals and conference dinner:

Restaurants, chop-houses and street-food places close to the venue will be indicated on a map at the homepage of the OFKD2018.
Lunches can also be ordered (only in advance!) via the electronic registration system at the price indicated there. Vouchers will be handed out at the registration desk, and meals will be served at the Conference Venue.
We cordially invite you to participate at the optional conference dinner on May 11, 2018, Friday at 7 p.m. in the Conference Venue. Please indicate your participation via the electronic registration system, and pay the fee (3 000 HUF) in advance, together with the other registration fees.

Registration and payment information:

Please visit the homepage of ELU Environmental Science Education (http://environment.elte.hu) and click on the OFKD2018 menu on the right side of the ribbon. Choose the Registration tag. Please follow the instructions in the online registration system at submission of your registration / dissertation / accommodation etc. preferences. Registration and dissertation upload is accepted only via the electronic system. Dissertations sent by e-mail, fax or mailed materials will be neglected.
The technical organizer of the OFKD2018 is Weco-Travel Ltd. Payments (paper submission and personal registration fee, accommodation fee, optional meals etc.) should be sent to Weco Travel Ltd. (Szép u. 2., H-1053 Budapest, Hungary; phone: +36-1-266-7032; fax: +36-1-266-7033; e-mail: mmt@wecotravel.hu) by means of bank transfer to MKB Bank (Váci utca 38., H-1056 Budapest, Hungary) account No. 10300002-20330220-00003285 (IBAN code: HU87-10300002-20330220-00003285; S; SWIFT code: MKKB-HU-HB) with reference: OFKD2018 + name of participant. Weco-Travel Ltd. provides you invoice to the name and address indicated in the electronic registration system.

Deadlines:

March 1, 2018. Registration and uploading the abstract
March 20, 2018. Uploading the final version of the dissertation
March 20, 2018. Receipt of the institutional justification
March 20 – April 20, 2018. Review process
April 15, 2018. Receipt of the payments
April 27, 2018. Review e-mailed to the presenting author
May 10-12, 2018. Student Conference

Contacts:

Paper submission information: Zsuzsanna Angyal, dranzsu@gmail.com
Technical organizer: Weco-Travel Ltd., mmt@wecotravel.hu
Artwork session: Károly Márialigeti, marialigeti.karoly@ttk.elte.hu
General information: Zoltán Gazsi, ofkd2018@gmail.com

See you at the Student Conference!
See you at ELU, Budapest, May 10, 2018.

Greetings

Károly Márialigeti
Head of the Organizing Committee

ELU, Faculty of Science, Center for Environmental Science,
Budapest