Post on 24-May-2020
QUALITY EDUCATION FORQUALITY EDUCATION FORMINORITIES (QEM) NETWORKMINORITIES (QEM) NETWORK
MENTORING MENTORING WORKSHOP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITYWORKSHOP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITYUNDERGRADUATEUNDERGRADUATE
ENGINEERING STUDENTS AND FACULTY/STAFF ADVISORSENGINEERING STUDENTS AND FACULTY/STAFF ADVISORS
M. Brian Blake, PhD (QEM Consultant)M. Brian Blake, PhD (QEM Consultant)Professor of Computer ScienceProfessor of Computer Science
Associate Dean of Engineering for Strategic InitiativesAssociate Dean of Engineering for Strategic InitiativesUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
Graduate School PlanningAnd Other Topics
• Mentoring Younger Students (no slides)•Networking•Graduate School Planning
• Processes and Timelines•Creating Materials for Letter Writers•Writing a Strong Research Statement
•Portfolio and Personal Profile Development
(Friday 11am – Seniors)
Networking (potential letter writers)Networking (potential letter writers)• Dowellinyourcoursesrelatedtoyourdiscipline
– Askques5ons,askques5ons,askques5ons…– Suggestprojectsthatextendcourserequirements
• Scheduleamee5ngwithmul5plefacultywithinthetargetdepartment
• Volunteeratresearchconferences– Developyour“academicstalking”technique
• Visitfacultyatschoolsinyourhometownwhoareclosetoyourarea(easywaytoincreaseyournetwork)
• ADendmentoringworkshops(…likethisone)andspeaktoeveryone
Process and DeadlinesProcess and Deadlines• Startearly….
• Chooseyourtargetschoolsinthesummerbeforesenioryear,atthelatest
• Speaktoprofessorsaboutyourtargetschools
• Workonapplica5onsinthelateSummerorearlyFall– Thenvisitifyoucan,someprogramswillinvite
• FinancialSupport(drop‐dead)Deadlineistypicallymid‐February
• No5fica5onsaretypicallyMid‐March
Creating Materials for Letter-WritersCreating Materials for Letter-Writers• MeetwithyourleDerwriters
• Ifyoulikeacourse,gooverandabovethecallofduty,sothefacultymemberwillgettoknowyou
• Par5cipateinundergraduateresearch
• Doaseniorthesis
• A"erthele)er‐writeragrees,becourteousand..• ProvideacareerplanforyourleDertoputyourworkincontext• GivePLENTYof5me,leDerwriterscantargetspecificdepartments
Writing a Strong Research StatementWriting a Strong Research Statement• Avoidwri5ngaresumeintextform
• Yourapplica5onalreadyincludesaresume• Facultymembersul5matelyhavetoreadalotalready
• Writeapersuasiveessay• Whatdon’tyoulikeaboutworld?Howcanyoufix?• Whatdoyouthinkisunexpectedlyinteres5ngabouttheworld?
• Whendidyoucometoyourepiphany?
• Now,cheat!!• Sneakinyourautobiographicalbulletstosubstan5ateyourfindings
Profile of a Competitive Graduate CandidateProfile of a Competitive Graduate Candidate
– Compe&&veGPAandGRE• Unfortunately,mostschoolsrelyheavily(perhapstoomuch)on
thesetwomeasuresasanpredictorforsuccess
– ResearchorIndustryexperience(perhapsboth)• Undergraduateresearch,internships,orexternships
– Coursethatsupportambi&ons– ExtracurricularsthatsupportleadershipANDteaming
ability– Goodrapportwithfacultywhocanwritethemost
compellingleDers– Clearcommunica&onskills,confident,andenerge&c– Aresumeandstatementthatisclearandfreeoferrors
Profile and Personal ProfileManagement and Other Topics
•Portfolio and Personal Profile Development (no slides)• Global Research Opportunities (no slides)
•e.g., NSF’s Developing Global Scientists and Engineers(International Research Experiences for Students - IRES)
•Writing a Research Abstract
(Friday 4:15pm – Seniors)•Test-taking Strategies (no slides)• Writing a Research Plan (previous slide)• Making Effective Presentations at Meetings/Conferences (no slides)• Developing a Career Portfolio
(Saturday 10:45am – Seniors)
Writing a research abstractWriting a research abstract
– Consider5aspectsoftheabstract…• High‐levelchallengeinsocietyormo5va5onfortheresearch• Descrip5onofaproblemthatanyonecanunderstand• Iden5fyyourspecificproblem• Quickdescrip5onofyourapproachtosolvetheproblem• Descrip5onofwhatyouwillshowthatsuggeststhatyour
approachisbeDerthanotherexis5ngapproaches.
Yourresearchabstractismeanttoa)ractreaderstothepaper,sokeepitengaging!
Opportunities for STEM-focusedOpportunities for STEM-focused Undergraduate Research Undergraduate Research
– Applyyouralgorithmictrainingintoresearchthisyear• Engageinaresearchprojectduringtheschoolyear• Full‐5meresearchexperienceduringsophomore‐endsummer
– FundedResearchOpportuni&es• UROP/SROP(Undergraduate/StudentResearchOpportuni5es)• REU/REUSitefunding• NSFSGERprojects• CRA‐CREUFellowships• University‐Internalresearchgrant
Conducting a Literature SurveyConducting a Literature Survey
1. GoogleScholar,CiteSeer,WebofScience,orevenageneralGooglesearch• Theseapplica5onswillgetyoustartedbyloca5ngpaperswith
5tlessimilartoyoursearcharea
2. Followtheleads…• Lookforpapersthatreferencethispaper• Lookforpapersthatthispaperreferences• Somewebsiteswillrecommendsimilarpapers• Emailauthorsforhelp,givethemsamplepapersandaskifthe
cansuggestotherpapersorotherresearchprojects
3. Iterate!!!• Whenyoufindarelevantpaper/researcherrepeat(2)
Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanFreshmanYear
StudentGuidance:• Thereisveryli5leresearchinyourfirst‐yearcourses• DOWELLINYOURFIRSTSCIENCECOURSES!!!• Gotothedepartment’scolloquiumtalksthatinterestyou• Introduceyourselftotheprofessorthathostedthetalkthatinterestsyou• Solicitpart‐5mefunded(ornon‐funded)opportuni5esinyour2ndsemester• Splityour5mebetweenhomeandshortresearchopportuni5esorconference
volunteerassignmentduringfirstsummer
1stYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Explainexis5ngresearchproblemsanddetailhowtorunexis5ngstudies• Havegeneralbackgroundknowledgeofaresearchproblem• Haverequisiteskillstodevelopuserinterfaces,surveys,testprotocols,
documenta5on
Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanSophomoreYear
– Applyyouralgorithmictrainingintoresearchthisyear• Engageinaresearchprojectduringtheschoolyear• Full‐5meresearchexperiencethissummer
– FundedResearchOpportuni&es• UROP/SROP(Undergraduate/StudentResearchOpportuni5es)• REU/REUSitefunding• NSFSGERprojects• CRA‐CREUFellowships• University‐Internalresearchgrant
– 2ndYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Rundirectedcomplexexperiments• Writethemo5va5onforaresearchprojectandalsoprovidea
preliminarytechnicalexplana5onoftheexperimentalprocessandresults
Research Opportunities: Research Opportunities: A 4-Year PlanA 4-Year PlanJunior/SeniorYear
– Startformingaresearchopinion• Eithercra_yourelec5vestobuildaspecializa5onortakejunioryearto
inves5gateadifferentareaatdept
• Internshipatacorpora5onduringsummera_erjunioryear
• Doaseniorthesisorcapstoneprojectinyoursenioryear
– 3rdYearDevelopmentalMilestone:• Suggestsvaria5onsincomplexexperiments
• Writeatechnicalexplana5onoftheexperimentalprocess/resultsandco‐authorapaperorthree..
– 4thYearDevelopmentalMilestone:– Suggestnewstudies(independentthoughts…ahhhyes!!)– Leadtheauthorshipofaworkshop/conferencepaperandco‐author
ajournalar5cle