2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Work in Progress: Investing in Engineering Futures Through Summer Research Funding

Presented at Inclusive Horizons: Shaping Diverse Pathways in Engineering and Design Education

This Work-in-Progress (WIP) paper explores the experiences of undergraduate engineering students engaged in full-time summer research through the Guided Engineering Apprenticeship in Research (GEAR) program. The study highlights the critical role of financial support in enabling students to engage in full-time summer research and thus democratizing opportunities for engineering students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews with GEAR participants facilitated an in-depth examination of their experiences, and thematic analysis of the interview data is ongoing. Preliminary themes show that financial support is critical for enabling full-time summer research engagement, which in turn, enhances students’ research skills and confidence, fosters deeper relationships with faculty and peers, and significantly influences students’ professional trajectories, including an increased interest in pursuing graduate studies.

Authors

Jessica Baldis University of California, San Diego [biography]

Jessica Baldis serves as the Strategic Initiatives and Assessment Senior Analyst at the University of California, San Diego’s IDEA Engineering Student Center. She holds a Masters degree in Engineering from the University of Washington and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Jessica spent several years managing and directing software engineering and content development teams primarily in the military and law enforcement spaces before transitioning to higher education.
Dr. Alex M. Phan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-2886 University of California, San Diego [biography]

Dr. Alex Phan is the inaugural Executive Director for Student Success in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Prior to his appointment, he has served as a project scientist, engineer, and lecturer, teaching across multiple divisions, including the Jacobs School of Engineering (Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Eng., Dean's Office Unit) and UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. His teaching interests and expertise are in experiential learning, holistic education models, active learning environments, and metacognition. In his current role, he leads the IDEA Student Center, a prolific student-centered resource hub at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

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