Grace LaTourelle-
The Fall Research Symposium will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18th in Beck Hall. Sophomores to Seniors from various disciplines at Gustavus will be presenting their research from the past summer or academic year.
“The Fall Research Symposium is an opportunity for students to share their research, scholarship, and creative projects to the broader Gustavus community,” Director of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity, Amanda Nienow said.
Students have the option of either doing posters or oral presentations. While the oral presentations are a time to sit and listen with an accompanying slideshow, the poster presentations are available to walk around and between while listening and asking questions of the speaker.
“Gustavus is about lifelong learning,” Director of the Fellowships Office, Pamela Kittelson said. “We have a lot of people who are really curious about all kinds of things. And this is a great opportunity to satiate that interest, even if you’re not a STEM…or Comm[unication] Studies major.”
The hope is that the Fall Research Symposium displays a variety of majors and disciplines, not just STEM majors. However, each year in the spring, Gustavus hosts the Celebration of Creative Inquiry as an additional opportunity for students to present research and projects.
“[The Symposium] gives students an opportunity to present their research in a professionally relaxed setting to allow them to prepare and be comfortable to present in a larger setting such as an annual Conference,” Grants Administration Coordinator, Sarah Peterson said.
Along with future presentation preparations, there is a group of reasons why students may engage in research on campus. Nienow suggested that research and presentations could help with confidence, career goals, and professional development.
“Undergraduate research is an opportunity for students to delve into projects in ways that are deeper than can be conducted in classes,” Nienow said.
Students can gain other skills relating to their field of interest and study, such as field skills, bench skills, data analysis, experimental design, integrating literature, statistical software, and GIS. These are what Kittelson labeled as ‘hard skills’.
“…It teaches you a lot of soft skills, too… they’re not necessarily easier, but these are skills related to teamwork…resilience. When you hit a roadblock in your research, can you figure out a plan B? Can you understand where you made a mistake…?” Kittelson said. “There’s the component of communication and that’s what this symposium is about. Communicating it in a more formal sense but also in the lab…”
Associate Professor of Biology, Laura Burrack also identified resilience and persistence as a skill that students might obtain while researching, as well as curiosity.
“Students should consider research because it is fun, has the chance to make a real difference to an important open question, and because no matter if you go into research or not, the skills you learn will be helpful,” Burrack suggested.
Research can also be added to one’s resume. Kittelson suggested that the hard and soft skills developed in research are what employers are “interested in”. It may also help a student figure out what they enjoy, in terms of field or careers.
Research at Gustavus is conducted in a variety of ways and through multiple programs. Students might aid faculty advisors on their current projects, conduct research for a class or seminar, or apply for programs such as First-Year Summer Research (FYRE) and Second-year Experience at Research (SEAR) programs. Research is also funded through the Presidential Faculty-Student Collaboration grant, which links students to professors conducting research, or the Johnson-Peterson Fellowship, which is awarded to students during the admission process. Students can either do research for credit or for pay at Gustavus.
Students who have participated in summer research have opportunities for community programming. These events involve both social and professional themes that help to build relationships with their coworkers and peers, as well as faculty.
“These students often bring their experiences back into the classroom and share with their friends which can add depth to classroom discussions and inspire more students to explore research, scholarship, and creative projects,” Nienow said. “Their excitement for their projects encourages more students to conduct research, scholarship and/or creative projects, building a community of scholars.”
It’s also suggested that the research has an effect on campus. This might occur not only within the research community and groups but also in the broader Gustavus community. Larger colleges and universities might not have the same availability of opportunities for research for undergraduates that Gustavus has, either.
“…For undergraduates to have this kind of ownership of an independent research project is unique,” Kittelson said. “Here…the student gets to see the arc of the whole experience from beginning to end and have their fingers and their brain involved with the whole thing.”
If students have questions about applying for or getting into research, they can reach out to Nienow. Those not presenting are encouraged and welcomed to come attend the presentations at the symposium.
“Go! Learning something new…be curious, that’s what it’s all about,” Kittelson said.