2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research is not a new idea however, it was in the 1950s that the relationship between research and development (R & D) was generally recognized [1]. Since WWII most economic growth has been from technology development. Thus, innovative research activity has been the single, most important component of long-term economic growth [2]. Research programs have been an important part of R1 and other research active universities and will continue to be increasingly important dimension of a faculty member’s receiving tenure and the promotion to professor.
To help faculty be successful in research, they should be encouraged to make use of undergraduate students in their research programs. Undergraduate students are an underutilized resource that can add value to any research program. Madan and Teitge [3] found that “a significant number of first-year students are overwhelmed by the academic process and do not even know that research is an option for them, let alone how to get involved.” Faculty are under tremendous pressures to be successful and often do not have time to recruit or train undergraduate students. This paper addresses this dilemma and describes the development of a training program to help faculty connect with undergraduates and see the value of adding them to their research teams. Undergraduates bring diversity to the research team. Undergraduates impacting research by bringing fresh ideas and unique perspectives to the team. They can help formulate questions and contribute to any brainstorming activities to solve research challenges. Out-of-the-box thinking is more likely with someone new to the program. Having additional lab workers can help with productivity in the lab. Russell et al. [4] found that undergraduate research does lead to interest in STEM careers and graduate study so these students could eventually continue in the lab as graduate students.
Both faculty and students need to connect research with the concepts of entrepreneurially minded learning (EML), or more specifically curiosity, connections and creating value, to the research being conducted. To educate and aid faculty with integrating undergraduates in research, a series of initiatives are being developed to address student early exposure to the concept of research, training of students in research topics, and helping faculty see the value of using undergraduates in their research programs. For all initiatives, videos and accompanying activities will be available for use at any university. Specifically for faculty development, two videos and accompanying activities are envisioned to be delivered in a seminar setting targeting all faculty who do research. The first seminar entitled “Engaging Undergraduates in Your Research: Worth the Effort!” makes the connection of undergraduate students to research programs and their value to both the student and the professor. The second seminar entitled “Boost UG Research Productivity with EML – Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value” reinforces this obvious connection between EML and research. These much needed seminars should encourage both new and experienced faculty to embrace EML and to see the benefit of including undergraduates in research programs. Seeing some of the examples of successfully integrating undergraduates in research that will be presented in the workshops should encourage all faculty and motivate them to include more undergraduates in their programs.

[1] Holstein, W. K., “Research and Development,” Britannica. [Online] Available: https://www.britannica.com/topic/research-and-development . [Accessed on Jan 29, 2022].
[2] Rosenberg, N. “Innovation and Economic Growth,” Innovation and Growth in Tourism, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2004. [Online]. Available: https://www.oecd.org/industry/tourism/34267902.pdf . [Accessed on Jan 29, 2022].
[3] Madan, C. R., and Teitge, B. D., “The Benefits of Undergraduate Research: The Student’s Perspective,” The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal, Vol 15(2013). [Online]. Available: https://journals.psu.edu/mentor/article/view/61274/60907 . [Accessed on Jan 30, 2022].
[4] Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., and McCullough, J., “Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences,” Science Magazine, Vol 316, 27 April 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1140384 . [Accessed on Jan 30, 2022]