UROP Symposium & Forum 2013

Depending on which UROP program your student(s) are participating in, they will present their research at one of these venues:

UROP Symposium Wednesday, April 24th

Most students will present research posters at this event.  Poster sessions last one hour.  Students will be assigned to a poster session in early April.  Last year’s symposium had over 1000 students presenting during 6 poster sessions.
 
UROP Forum Wednesday, April 17^th

Students participating in the UROP Research Scholars program present their research as a poster or 15-minute oral presentation.  Nominations for oral presentations will be open in February; sponsors of Research Scholars will be emailed more information about the nomination process.
 
Michigan Research Community (MRC) Symposium Wednesday, April 10th 

Students in the Michigan Research Community will present in one of two poster sessions at the MRC Symposium.  Three MRC students will also be selected to give oral presentations during the Symposium. Students will be assigned to their poster session in early April.  If you have any questions about a student in MRC or the MRC Symposium, please contact Jennifer Maltby, MRC Associate Director, at jmaltby@umich.edu or 763-6658.

Sandra Gregerman (sgreger@umich.edu):   Overall questions about UROP, supplementary research funding, student concerns, grant proposals involving undergraduate research, grading.

Katy Downs (downs@umich.edu):  Project submissions, Research Scholars, student concerns, research skilling building workshops.

Jenna Steiner (jennaste@umich.edu):  Program Manager & Community-Based Research Fellowship Coordinator

Charmise Knox (clknox@umich.edu):  Summer Fellowship Programs, electronic time submission, timesheets, registration questions

Gerry Kreiner (gerryk@umich.edu):  Student registration questions, electronic time submission and approval, transportation

Nancy Miller (namiller@umich.edu ):  Supplementary funding requests, student travel grants

Peer Advisors:  Every UROP student is assigned a peer advisor. We have 32 peer advisors on staff this year.  This UROP alum meets monthly with all of their students to make sure the research project is going well. They are a resource for you as well if you have questions or concerns about a student’s performance or related concerns.

UROP has a small number of cars we lease each year to enable students to get to sites off campus and that are not accessible by U-M bus or other public transportation. Your student will need to pick up a Transportation Request Form, have you sign it, and bring it back to the office. Use of the car is dependent on availability.

Thanks to all of you for willingness to help us with our new electronic time approval process for students participating in UROP for work-study funding. We know it has been challenging and we appreciate your patience and feedback.

Creating Effective Student/Research Sponsor Partnerships

We know from years of experience that there are several keys to establishing an effective student/research sponsor partnership. The following is our top ten list of what makes a good experience for everyone.

1. Make sure you choose students who are enthusiastic about the content of the project. It isn’t always the student with the best grades or test scores who make the best UROP student. Time and again sponsors tell us the most successful UROP student was the one who seemed most excited about the project and/or had some personal connection to the content.
2. In most cases UROP students will be working on a very small part of your overall project. The more the student knows about the goals of the project, the role their part plays in the overall project, and the background information for the project, the more invested they will be in the work.
3. Set clear expectations for the project and what tasks you will be giving the student and why. Also be clear about what it takes to be given increasing responsibility on the project and what the student needs to do to be given more complex and high level tasks as they progress.
4. Establish your policies about schedules, when and where you expect the student to be, what they should do if they are not able to come in or realize they have an exam or other conflict. How much in advance do you expect to be notified? Through what means, email, a phone call, etc., who should they contact?
5. Set up regular meeting times with your student to touch base, review progress and performance, answer questions, etc.
6. Orient the student to the project through background readings to help the student understand the context of the project, introducing the student to the others working o the project and their roles, specify what training the student will need and what UROP skill building workshops they must attend, who will be supervising them etc.
7. Make sure you are clear about your policies regarding question asking (e.g. you would rather have the student ask something more than once than make a mistake, there are no stupid questions), note taking, the best way to communicate with you. Good communication is the key to a successful partnership.
8. Spend a minute every now and then asking the student a question about their classes, campus life, it is invaluable to the student.
9. If the student is doing something wrong, give them feedback right away. In most cases it should be something they can fix if they understand what they are doing wrong.
10. Contact the UROP office right away if there is a problem, our goal is to help you resolve the issue quickly.

November/December Fall 2012 Issue

January 2013 Issue

Symposium 2013 Sponsor Newsletter

Annually, UROP recognizes five research sponsors who have demonstrated excellence in their role as UROP Research Mentor. The awards are presented at an annual reception attended by our other sponsors and campus administrators and our UROP Leadership Committee. Graduate students are not eligible for this award. UROP staff and Peer Advisors review nominations forms that have been turned in by students and make final selections.