This year’s Student Research Week will be from April 2 through 5 in the Student Union, and it promises to be better than ever. Student Research Week features a great assortment of helpful professional development workshops, a unique art exhibit, the Graduate Research Forum and the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE).
Whether you are new to academic research, or you are already knee-deep in your own, or you just want to check out the remarkable research other UCF students have undertaken, Student Research Week will be an invaluable resource for students of all class standing and individuals in all stages of research.
If you have a research or creative project that you would like to share with the world, submit your proposal! The Graduate Research Forum and SURE are now accepting submissions from current UCF students in any major and discipline. This is an opportunity to display and discuss your research and creative accomplishments to the university and the greater Central Florida community in a setting akin to a national conference, while receiving helpful feedback from faculty judges and networking with other researchers. Presentations will be in poster format, and may be either a literature review or original research. Awards for best poster in each category are given and all participants receive recognition. The deadline for Graduate Research Forum is February 13, while for SURE the deadline is February 17. Late submissions will not be accepted. For more information about submitting your proposal and to apply online, click here.
If you are not quite presentation-ready, the following professional development workshops can help. They will guide you in learning about research opportunities, presenting research effectively, developing successful research skills and planning for the future.
If you have amassed the research, but aren’t quite sure what to do with it, visit the “Organizing YOUR Research Literature” workshop on Wednesday, April 4. You will learn how to use RefWorks and EndNote to collect and organize citations, generate bibliographies, and export citations from library databases, plus a demonstration on how both products work with Microsoft Word. To learn how to communicate your research project to a variety of audiences, sit in on the “Communicating YOUR Research” workshop on Monday, April 2 to discover tips and tricks for successful project presentations.
If you have an amazing research idea, but lack the necessary funds to continue, check out the “Student Grants and Fellowships” workshop on Monday, April 2. Here you will learn about securing funding through fellowships and grants available to undergraduate and graduate students including, but not limited to, National Science Foundation, Fulbright, SMART, and Ford.
If you have yet to engage in research and are looking for a uniquely hands-on learning experience using the most cutting-edge research UCF (and the world!) has to offer, look no further than the “Getting Started – Undergraduate Research” on Wednesday, April 4. Find out how to get involved in research, connect with appropriate faculty, and how it can enhance your experience as an undergrad.
If you have yet to be inspired to explore community challenges and help solve real-world problems, visit the Graduate Research Forum and the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence to get your creativity flowing. Witness how UCF students have cultivated their intellectual interests and creative pursuits to better their community and university and further their academic curriculum. Presentations will be about a variety of topics and fields of study. Participating students are working with experts in their field, oftentimes using the most advanced modern technology, and may just be presenting the next big breakthrough in research. The Graduate Research Forum will be on Tuesday, April 3, while the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence will be on Thursday, April 5.
If you are thinking about graduate school, come to the “Planning for Success in Graduate School” panel discussion on Wednesday, April 4 to see if grad school is for you. Find out everything you wanted to know about graduate school, including identifying programs, admissions and how to succeed once you’re there. If you are already a graduate student, uncover what you should be doing to maximize your graduate career. Panelists include graduate students and faculty.
If you want to discover what the UCF’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences is doing to combat some of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases, explore the fascinating Kickoff Seminar, “Green Vaccines for Infectious and Inherited Diseases” on Monday, April 2. In this presentation, a novel green vaccine concept that was developed here at UCF will be discussed. Low cost vaccines to prevent cholera, malaria, anthrax, plague or therapeutic vaccines for diabetes or hemophilia will be presented. Find out how this could change the biomedical community, the vaccine production and delivery process and global poverty. This novel concept, developed using funding from the National Institutes of Health and USDA, is now advanced further by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Bayer Healthcare.
If you are in need of a break from all the awe-inspiring Student Research Week activities, then you are in the wrong place. On Thursday, April 5, there will be a unique day long art exhibit on display at the UCF Art Gallery. The State of STEAM exhibit contains STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) inspired art works, including sculptures, paintings, illustrations and posters. The art pieces are created by the Visual Arts and Design (VAD) students, based on the research of STEM students. The VAD and STEM students will be present in the gallery to explain their art and research in the evening.
All events are open to UCF students, faculty, staff and the central Florida community. No RSVP required.