The University’s Undergraduate Research Network is currently hosting a Research and Scholarship week to provide information and opportunities for students interested in getting involved with research.
The event is also co-sponsored by Black Student Research Network, College Council and the University Center for Global Health.
Tuesday, the URN presented the Research Fair in Newcomb Ballroom. At this event, students were able connect with professors and learn about opportunities for research grants and scholarships.
Parth Patel, a fourth-year College student and URN Tech and advising chair, said the fair is an opportunity for students to learn about research at the University.
“We are a research university so most of the departments have a lot of research going on, but students don’t know that,” Patel said. “We have a lot of humanities departments presenting today, like Politics, Sociology, Media Studies and things like that.”
Patel said that although it can be daunting, any students — including first-years — have the opportunity to get involved with research.
“Students need to be proactive. They need to contact principal investigators which is always intimidating, but that is how they should start,” Pathology Research Associate Jelena Medved said.
In the past, students would email professors to find research opportunities. A lot of the time, professors would not be looking for undergraduates or students wouldn’t be interested in the research available, which Patel explained made the process difficult.
In hopes of remedying this issue, Patel created a system called UNLEASH last year, which was showcased at the Research Fair.
“It’s essentially a system where professors create a profile and they can opt-in to show up on a list of professors currently looking for undergrads,” Patel said.
This new technology makes it easier for students to find professors, know their descriptions — including past publications — and quickly read through the research they are doing.
There is also a built-in application system. Instead of students having to compose an email themselves, the system will pre-format the email and send it on their behalf.
“That way professors will see that it’s an UNLEASH email and know it’s a research application instead of seeing an email from an unknown computing ID,” Patel said.
BSRN President Deanna Knox, a third-year College student, said her group has the same goals as URN, except it focuses on minority students.
The group was founded last year after students took notice of the lack of African-American voices and minority voices in general in academia and research.
“We try to encourage students to pursue research whether that develops into a greater passion later in life or is just something they were able to dabble in during their years here,” Knox said.
Knox said there are few African-American faculty outside of the Office of African-American Studies at the University, so the group wants to inspire minority students to participate in academia from an early age.
While there are no specific scholarships or opportunities available just for minority students, Knox said the group has “a tight connection with African-American professors here and they often show us opportunities prior to sending them out to other groups because they know what our mission is and they really want to help us.”
By increasing awareness of research opportunities, URN hopes to show students that doing research is not as intimidating as it may seem.
“If somebody really wants to get involved and they are clear with what is expected from them, then it’s not very hard,” Medved said.
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