[lahyt-ning tawk] (noun): A very short presentation given at a conference or similar forum. Lasting only a few minutes with multiple topics delivered during a single period by different speakers.

In 2014, SIGUCCS experimented with its first ever lightning talk session. During this one-hour time slot, five presenters each gave a 7 minute presentation on their prepared topics. Topics ranged from “What are Lightning Talks” to “Being a Mentor among your Peers”. The challenge of the lightning talk format is to present your topic in a clear and concise manner. The benefit is to offer the audience a broad array of information in a single session. This session did both.

These attention grabbing talks are expected to return in 2015! Join us in St. Petersburg (http://www.siguccs.org/Conference/2015/) to experience them for yourself!