Festival to allow students to present undergraduate research

Students must submit their abstracts for the Undergraduate Research Festival by 5 p.m. on Jan. 24.

After the submissions are reviewed, students will be notified of their acceptance into the festival on Feb. 7.

Students are expected to have a majority of the research for their topics completed so they can focus on registration and preparation for their presentations.

Abstracts submitted should be clear and concise, proofread by mentor of the student or their Institution’s writing center and consist of 200-300 words, according to the Undergraduate Research Festival website.

This year’s festival is open to any undergraduate students from any degree background who wish to present their research, along with “a creative arts category for presentations focusing on digital, vocal, theatrical, and creative expression, including the Images of Aging Photography contest,” according the myACU event thumbnail.

The festival is run by the Office of Undergraduate Research, whose website said they seek to get students to expand their knowledge and intellectual drive through research projects:

“Research is also a significant confidence booster. The more students are mentally stretched (wrestling with surprising results or unanswered questions or pertinence to previous studies), the greater their sense of accomplishment upon completion of the project.”

Dr. Megan Roth, executive director of research, said this aspect, among others, is one of the great benefits students can receive when taking on an undergraduate research project.

“Other than the professional opportunities this offers, like putting it on your resume, using it to get into a graduate program, the relationships you can build with a faculty mentor,” Roth said, “studies show that students who participate in undergrad research do better in school.”

Dr. Josh Brokaw, faculty director of undergraduate research, said he believes research allows the student to be more proactive in their own learning and willingly come across challenges the classroom may not offer.

“The thing about research is that the stuff that’s said in the classroom needs to be questioned. You can’t just assume that it’s all true, you can’t assume that 20 years from now they’ll be saying the same thing,” Brokaw said.

This year’s Undergraduate Research Festival will be held at the Hunter Welcome Center on April 7.