The University of Maine at Presque Isle announced on April 9 that it will hold its 23rd annual University Day on Tuesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 15. The event will include student presentations, a keynote address by Libra Distinguished Lecture Series speaker Kyle Poissonnier, and various activities centered around the theme “Envisioning the Future: Curiosity-Driven Discovery.”
University Day is designed to showcase academic research, scholarly work, and community service conducted by students across all disciplines at the university. The event aims to help attendees understand how different fields connect and how student projects relate to both local and global communities. It also provides many students with their first experience participating in a professional conference setting.
Activities begin Tuesday evening with a poster session in the Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., where both university and local high school students will present their research topics. This session will be followed by Poissonnier’s keynote address titled “Keep Doing What You’re Doing,” during which he will discuss his journey from Smithfield, Maine to founding Catalyst for Change Wear and raising funds for mental health awareness.
On Wednesday, student-led talks and demonstrations covering subjects such as digital journalism, food insecurity, service learning partnerships, undergraduate research opportunities through Maine INBRE, art presentations using PechaKucha format, internship experiences at Disney College Program, reflections on Hurricane Island visits, and readings from UMPI’s literary journal Upcountry are scheduled throughout Pullen-Folsom Hall starting at 9:15 a.m.
During lunch in Wieden Gym from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be Discovery Trivia activities along with displays set up by student clubs and organizations. Community members are invited to attend all sessions as well as the free lunch.
An online proceedings document featuring detailed abstracts of each presentation is expected to be published prior to the event at www.umpi.edu/uday/proceedings. A full schedule can be found at www.umpi.edu/uday.
