Facilitating Research Opportunities for Duke Undergraduates - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Facilitating Research Opportunities for Duke Undergraduates Patrick Donley, Yanbo Fang, Brittany Williams and Dan Yanes

Our Team Dan Yanes Yanbo Fang Pat Donley Brittany Williams Civil Computer Mechanical Computer Engineering Science Engineering Science

None of these awesome labs have undergraduate researchers! Constructal Law, Center for Metamaterials Finite Element Simulations, Mechanical Engineering and Integrated Plasmonics Computational Mechanics

Our Journey Our Journey Dr. Karin Reuter-Rice, Duke Dr. Christine Payne, Duke University University School of Nursing Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering

Student Methods for Finding Research Opportunities Talking to professors they have in class Asking older students for referrals Faculty websites / professor bios Major listservs

The Problem : The current system for matching students with research opportunities on campus is ineffective and inequitable. Our Proposed Solution : Create a centralized matchmaking database to connect students to research opportunities on campus.

MUSER Sheila Patek

Current MUSER Awareness In a survey of 67 Duke students interested in research, only 61.2% had heard of MUSER

Current MUSER Usage Of the 41 students who had heard of MUSER, only 34.3% had used MUSER to apply for a research position

Reframing our Solution The Problem : The current system for matching students with research opportunities on campus is ineffective and inequitable. Our Proposed Solution : Create a centralized matchmaking database to connect students to research opportunities on campus by popularizing MUSER.

Discovered that an effective database already exists; the issue was getting buy-in from both sides of the market Students Laboratories -~7,000 -Less than 200 labs undergraduates on campus with low -Student population turnover refreshes every 4 -Could call on each years lab head to tell -Our area of about MUSER if expertise necessary

The Plan 1. Deliver a template to MUSER with information on what mechanisms/contacts to use to market MUSER to incoming freshman classes 2. Establish MUSER as the dominant method for finding research opportunities for the incoming freshman class by marketing to the class of 2023 starting at Blue Devil Days this Spring 3. MUSER will become standard across the Undergraduate student body in four years

Sample Framework Event Contact Important Dates Other Notes Blue Devil Days Alecia Manhato Happens in late March/ Sheila will be a panelist (Admissions Office) Early April at one of the events Duke Blue Book Office of Student Affairs Mails in June, is In talks with Student published in April Affairs to have a page in the book O-Week/ FACs FAC board sets agenda Happens in late August, Brittany is a former for O-Week agenda finalized over member and is reaching the summer out to the current exec Academic Advisers Multiple, listed on Contact before new Dan is in contact with DukeHub and other school year multiple advisers/ websites pre-health advisers Activities Fair Emilie Dye, UCAE Contact over the Emile confirmed summer MUSER can have a booth

Create sustainable framework for Our Value to marketing going forward MUSER Market MUSER to incoming freshmen Establish MUSER as the go-to place for undergraduates looking for research opportunities Establish MUSER as the centralized hub for connecting students and researchers

MUSER’s Value to Establish MUSER as the Research centralized hub for connecting students and researchers Eliminates the need for cultural Easier for students to find Better fit between students and capital and removes potential research on campus research labs/ less attrition implicit bias Better and more research on campus

Value of Research - Learning opportunity for students - Better outcomes for labs (more research papers, more innovation) - Inspire passion and interests in students - Imagine the impact of 100 more students doing research each year! Or the impact of reducing the attrition rate of student researchers by 25%! - Duke Students have the power to change the world and more and better research opportunities will help them do it!

Impact George Church (‘74) Scott Guthrie Kimberly Blackwell Blake Wilson (‘74) (‘97) (‘89, ‘97, ‘00)