scholarly journals Undergraduate Research Participation In The Experimental Aerodynamics Group

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayanan Komerath
Fine Focus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Hannah DeWitt

A commentary on the benefits of undergraduate research participation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Collins ◽  
Sara E. Grineski ◽  
Jessica Shenberger ◽  
Xiaodan Morales ◽  
Osvaldo F. Morera ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Cheryl L. Buff ◽  
Raj Devasagayam

The benefits of undergraduate research continue to receive academic attention and it is becoming an engaged learning practice present on many college campuses today.  As research participation grows, an opportunity exists to showcase the work being accomplished and to use this public presentation to foster a culture of undergraduate research on campus, lobby for additional funding, and increase student and faculty participation.  We describe the innovation and evolution of a student conference in business, sharing lessons learned and measureable results for the ten years this conference has been in place.


Author(s):  
Olga Pierrakos

Undergraduate research experiences, which are highly promoted and supported by NSF and other agencies, present a great opportunity for our students to learn essential problem solving skills. The National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is one of the largest initiatives supporting active research participation by undergraduate students in all of the areas of research funded by NSF. The REU program, with more than 600 sites around the world, presently funds over 1000 active awards, totaling over $327 million. From these active REU awards, 384 (38% of the total active awards) are related to engineering (determined by having ‘engineering’ as a keyword in the title and abstract) and account for about $170 million, about half of the total amount of awards to date. In spite of such widespread support and belief in the value of undergraduate research, limited well-grounded research and evaluation studies exist [1]. Most of the existing literature reveals the predominance of program descriptions, explanation of models, and evaluation efforts, rather than studies grounded on research. Only recently have research and evaluation studies focused on assessing the benefits of undergraduate research [1–8]. Some of these benefits are (a) retention for underrepresented groups, (b) increased interest in the discipline, (c) gaining critical thinking skills, (d) increased self-confidence, and (e) clarification of career goals. Moreover, most of these studies on undergraduate research have focused on the sciences, whereas undergraduate research experiences in engineering have been understudied.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009862832110560
Author(s):  
Caitlin Posillico ◽  
Sarah Stilwell ◽  
Jacqueline Quigley ◽  
Crystal Carr ◽  
Sara Chadwick ◽  
...  

Background Participating in research opportunities during undergraduate education is met with myriad benefits. Students learn the scientific research process, how to think critically, develop transferable skills, refine public speaking, build a professional network, and gain confidence. Despite the numerous benefits of undergraduate research participation, underrepresented and minority (URM) students (e.g., first-generation, low-income, and historically underrepresented students) often do not engage in these valuable undergraduate research opportunities. Objective To begin breaking down some of these historical barriers to participation, we developed the Students Tackling Advanced Research (STAR) Scholars Program. Method A holistic educational outreach program was designed to facilitate underrepresented undergraduate students’ involvement in research and help them understand why research is important in a greater context. Conclusion Students who participated in STAR Scholars self-report positive impacts on understanding what research is, ways to seek out research opportunities, and what steps to take toward future educational and professional goals. Teaching Implications It is imperative to explicitly target barriers that underrepresented students face to allow for equity and inclusion in research and academia. Workshops and activities designed to demystify research, build networking and professional skills, and provide mentorship to students are successful in breaking down these barriers and increase student confidence and competence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Mugabo ◽  
Lotta Velin ◽  
Richard Nduwayezu

Abstract Background Early involvement of students in research processes is an important step in professional development and can increase the academic output of the university. Previous studies indicate low research involvement amongst undergraduate students, however limited research has been done in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to describe the level of research involvement amongst undergraduate students at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) at University of Rwanda (UR) and to assess factors associated with research involvement. Methods This cross-sectional study covered the three CMHS campuses. A survey was shared in class WhatsApp groups from July to September 2020. Data were analyzed using Stata IC 16.0 with descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results In total, 324 students participated with the mean age being 23.3 (standard deviation 2.27). Males constituted 65.1% of respondents vs. 33.3% females. The largest portion of respondents were from the School of Medicine and Pharmacy (46.6%), and Medicine was the most frequent department (33.3%). On a Likert scale from 1 to 10, 60.0% of the respondents thought that research was 10/10 important for undergraduate students, with the mean value being 8.8. Rating their interest in taking part in research during undergraduate studies, 48.2% scored it 10/10, with the mean value being 8.57. 80.3% of respondents had attended a research module, course, or workshop; however, only 48.8% had participated in a research project and 72.0% of them had been involved in data collection. Inadequate knowledge about research processes and lack of mentors were the main barriers to research participation in 48.0 and 40.2% of respondents respectively. Establishment of a UR-Undergraduate research support center (77.2%), and involving students in ongoing UR projects (69.4%) were the most frequent suggestions to improve students’ research participation. Conclusion Undergraduate students at the CMHS in the UR have a large research interest, yet their involvement is currently low. Limited knowledge about research processes and shortage of mentors remains potent barriers to participation. Inviting undergraduate students to partake in ongoing projects and establishing a UR undergraduate research support center are recommended to strengthen undergraduate research experience at the UR-CMHS.


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