The main criteria are scientific quality, field of expertise, and compatibility with the OSC themes. Additional consideration will be given to geographical and gender balance. Critical for the selection is the quality of the scientific poster on one of the following thematic hotspots: river-mouth systems, small island developing states, coastal urbanisation and megacities, and Arctic coasts. These terms should be somehow included in your poster title. Your poster can present original research you already carried out as well as a proposed research idea. However, in both cases the research has to relate clearly to one of the hotspots. The structure of your poster should follow scientific guidelines and be composed of: title, contact details, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references, and acknowledgements:

• Title (not more than 2 lines; refer to one of the hotspots): The title should convey the "issue" and the approach; it needs to be catchy in order to "reel in" passersby. A suggested title format is 90-96 point size (pt) Helvetica or Arial, use bold/shadow as this reads better from a distance; subtitles should be 72pt.
• Contact details :   Your name including affiliation and e-mail address (36-48pt). Do NOT include an abstract!
• Introduction (ca. 300 words): Get your viewer interested about the issue or question while using the absolute minimum of background information and definitions. Quickly place your issue in the context of primary literature and give a clear statement of your hypothesis. Provide description and justification of your approach and hint at why you are appropriate for such research. If available, use a photograph in this section if it can get your viewers oriented on your study question quickly. The introduction and the other poster text should be 18pt; space and a half; never smaller than 14pt;
• Methods (ca. 200 words): Briefly describe methods and/or experimental equipment, but not with the detail used for a scientific paper. Use figures and tables to illustrate your approach and flow charts to summarise reaction steps or timing of procedures. Include photograph; mention the methods you use (or will use) and how they allow you to address your hypothesis and research questions.
• Results (ca. 200 words excluding figure legends): Briefly describe (expected) qualitative and descriptive results. Then present data analysis that more specifically addresses the hypothesis and refer to supporting charts or images. This section should be the largest section of your poster.
• Conclusions (ca. 300 words): Remind the reader of hypothesis and result, and quickly state whether your hypothesis was (how it will be) supported. Discuss why your results are (will be) conclusive and interesting.
• References (not more than 5 citations): Use only essential references and follow standard format.
• Acknowledgements (ca. 40 words): In this section you can thank for support or funding.
• Information (ca. 20 words): Provide a little box with your e-mail and web site address (if possible, a URL where interested viewers can download a PDF version of the poster).
  
  

The reference letter provided by a referee should contain the following components:

• The applicant's full name and affiliation
• The length of time the reference has known the applicant and in what capacity
• How the applicant is exceptional to others with similar backgrounds or in similar positions. Please provide specific examples.
• The applicant's professional qualifications (years of experience, academic credentials, etc.) and competency in his/her profession, with examples of specific accomplishments and achievements.
• The applicant's character traits relevant to the YLF and the OSC themes. Traits worth noting include: ability to communicate (written and verbal), self-reliance, initiative, flexibility, responsibility, energy level, scientific direction, interpersonal skills, teamwork, level of commitment, etc.
• Contact information of the referee (in case of questions regarding the applicant).

The letter of recommendation should be saved as a PDF-file as following: yourlastname-YLF-3.pdf