THE 26TH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FORUM: A TRAILBLAZING ONLINE EVENT
Joyce J. Fernandes, Director of Undergraduate Research & Professor of Biology
In 2019, the Undergraduate Research Forum achieved a significant milestone—25 years of showcasing scholarly and creative works, conducted by our students, under the guidance of dedicated mentors (faculty, staff & graduate students). This year, we celebrate another milestone—the first-ever ONLINE event, prompted by restrictions imposed due to COVID-19.
The Office of Research for Undergraduates (ORU) is very appreciative of the support from IT services to remotely deliver poster and oral presentations using the WebEx platform; to e-Learning Miami for creating and managing the WordPress portal that serves as an event website; to University Libraries, Career Services, and Student Disability Services for conducting workshops that helped prepare student presenters for the forum. These workshops included topics such as Designing an effective poster, Making your research pitch, Writing an abstract to communicate research with a public audience, Creating accessible PowerPoints and documents.
The online format of the Undergraduate Research Forum has provided several new opportunities for engaging the wider university community. The event website has allowed attendees and presenters to preview research projects using keywords for discipline and major and to peruse submitted abstracts and “gallery walks” of presentation and poster images.
Faculty and graduate student mentors have come forward to moderate the forum’s 23 WebEx sessions to ensure a smooth running of the many concurrent sessions. It was necessary to limit poster presentations to 5 minutes, rather than the usual 90-minute delivery time. However, we are encouraging the use of Twitter & Instagram to continue poster discussions throughout the day and beyond. These social media platforms are becoming popular choices for the exchange of research outcomes during this “forced” transition to remote delivery.
Professional organizations have embraced this opportunity. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) hosts its premier advocacy event, Posters on the Hill, during Undergraduate Research Week (April 20-24). This year, the event was held exclusively using Twitter. In moving our Undergraduate Research Forum online, Miami University is surely being a trail blazer. Thanks to all the student presenters and mentors who have taken a leap of faith to participate in the online forum.
I am very appreciative of the long hours that Martha Weber, coordinator of Undergraduate Research, devotes each year, taking care of the many little details that make the event a grand success. Also, thanks to ORU Graduate Assistant Ally Tamez, who has collaborated with staff across campus to bring new visibility to the 2020 Undergraduate Research Forum.
We invite the university community to engage in this unique online event, to provide us with feedback about the new formats, and to share your ideas for raising the profile of undergraduate research at Miami University.
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