Summer 2012 Intern Programs May 21 – July 27

ASPIRE/QoLT REU-29 students (7 sponsored by individual investigators)

TIPeD-3 business students (working with 3 REU students)

ELeVATE-4 veterans Young Scholars (HS internships)-

4(?) participants QoLT Bridge (MS students)-1

participant

Key Events

REU picnic-5/21, noon, Posvar Patio ELeVATE kickoff meeting-5/24, 4pm,

RST TIPeD kickoff meeting-5/30, 9am,

HERL Career workshop-7/12, noon, HERL Individual lab symposia-7/23 & 7/24 Student Research Symposium-7/26

William Pitt Union

Work schedule

2 days of absence (sick or personal). Advisors must approve.

Students must complete timecard (via public spreadsheet).

Work on a research project that can be completed over a 8-week (40 hours/week) period.

Expect to help on other projects (unrelated) or tasks.

Attend the orientation, lecture series, career workshop, and field trips

Required vs. optional events E.g. Subject testing

REU Interns Expectations

REU Interns Expectations REU symposium will be held where the interns will make 90 sec

elevator pitch presentations with Q&A

A ~300 word abstract (see handout)

A technical report of their research work is due at the end of the program (3-5 pages)

Follow RESNA format

All interns should submit conference paper Student support provided

Faculty/graduate mentors can request project supplies

Interns should meet frequently with the faculty/graduate mentors to discuss the project tasks and track progress

Exit interview and survey

5 Best Practices to Remember

Time Clear expectations Independence Encouragement Instruction

Tips for Grad Student Mentors(or Investigators w/o Grad Students)

Prior to start Prepare and discuss a task list with a time line Break down the project in smaller tasks See example If student needs to learn something new, let them know now

Think about a backup plan when the student is incapable of completing assignments There may be something that you have done before that the

student can do and learn from

Tips for Grad Student Mentors(or Investigators w/o Grad Students)

Schedule a face-to-face meeting at minimum of once a week to review project status and progress When necessary, discuss and agree

together on modifications to the task list and time line

Provide the task list to someone who can oversee the student in your absence At HERL – Mary or Maria

TimelineWeek Milestone

1 Students oriented

2 Students familiarized with procedures and software and literature

3 Students understand project goals, methods, and timeline

4 Paper outline completed

5 If applicable, first prototype built, complete introduction of paper

6 Complete methods section of paper

7 If applicable, build second prototype, complete results section of paper

8 Complete draft paper (submit to advisor & revise)

9 Complete presentation and poster

10 Present, organize findings and documents on share drive, complete exit survey

Tips for Grad Student Mentors(or Investigators w/o Grad Students)

First meeting Help them locate files on shared drive(s) Show them amenities they have access to or

labs where they will be working Help them to understand your lab

environment

Coin program

Students have opportunity to become acquainted with faculty on one on one setting

Lunch OR visit/tour of lab are appropriate Mentors should cover the expense of lunch &

can submit receipts for reimbursement Student will be awarded coin

Program Details

www.qolt.pitt.edu/under (REU program website)

Calendar on that site and on HERL exchange E&O calendar (once set up)

‘Mentors’ page Let us know ASAP if special software is

required

Resources https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=

0Aq_SE_tacTWSdFFBRTI5MnBHZUJyME9kNTJ2eTRJbUE

Example REU plan Example task list Intern expectations NCUR Abstract Suggested conferences

Resources Craig, Norman C. "The Joys and Trials of Doing Research with

Undergraduates." Journal of Chemical Education Vol. 76 Iss. 5 (1999): pp. 595-598.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/ed076p595

Whiteside, Ursula, et al. "Initial Suggestions for Supervising and Mentoring Undergraduate Research Assistants at Large Research Universities." International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Vol. 19 Iss. 3 (2007): pp. 325 - 330.

http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE280.pdf

Koontz, A., Ding, D., Hershberger, M., Cooper, R. “A Model Undergraduate Research Program in Rehabilitation Engineering” Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference on Rehabilitation Engineering (RESNA), Washington, DC, June 2008.

http://web.resna.org/conference/proceedings/2008/Public%20Policy/Koontz.html

Goldberg, M., Pearlman, J. “Technology Innovations for Persons with Disabilities (TIPeD): A Program to Develop Impactful Technologies and Teach Students the Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship” Proceedings of the National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Alliance (NCIIA), San Francisco, March 2012.

http://nciia.org/sites/default/files/features/conference/2012/papers/goldberg-Pearlman-upitt.pdf

Index card activity

Side 1-piece of advice about mentoring

Side 2 1-2 sentence descriptor of what your

student will be doing this summer 3 project goals for your student