On September 23, an undergraduate research information session was hosted in the W.A.C. Bennett Library by undergraduate research coordinator Rachel Way. This event exposed undergraduate students to research and to available courses, awards, and jobs that are offered by SFU. The Peak attended the event and spoke to Way to learn more about the existing research opportunities for students.
Way highlighted a variety of course-based research opportunities available at SFU for many departments, including taking department-specific labs, study groups, and intro research courses. Way shared these courses outline “how to choose a research question, how to form a study, how to collect your data [and] analyze your data.”
Participating in programs such as honours, directed studies, and capstones after taking intro research courses help students “build a skill set,” according to Way. Honours programs often occur the next semester after a student completes a research course; students will independently take all of the data they collected and write a thesis while being supervised by a faculty member.
Directed studies are similar to an honours program, where students conduct research for a semester; however, in directed studies, students take previous research on a particular topic and present it to a faculty member or do a “literature-based research experience,” as Way explained. “Many programs offer some sort of capstone where your whole course is working towards producing a final project,” Way added.
With these experiences, students can then move into research assistant roles and apply for awards such as undergraduate student research awards.
“I am very interested in pursuing some of the new technologies that are being adapted and are being developed [ . . . ] This event allowed me to get more immersed in the possibility.”
— Igor Montecinos
The Peak spoke to Igor Montecinos, a third-year mechatronic systems engineering student, to learn about his reasons for attending the event. He shared his interest in robotics and in vehicle safety, and his desire to pursue his passions doing research at SFU. “This event allowed me to get more immersed in the possibility,” he said.
Engaging in research benefits undergraduate students because it allows them to gain “hands-on experience in a field that [they’re] interested in,” Way shared. Students can expand their research skills by working in a lab or in study groups and gain transferable skills that are applicable to postgraduate studies and the work force. They can also present their research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Way shared that this symposium is a chance for students to present their research in front of faculty members who moderate and investigate the work. These events occur every spring, and there are faculty and graduate student information panels, as well as student journals that provide information about applying for grad school and publishing work.
There are also “paid opportunities to do research with a faculty supervisor at SFU,” Way explained, through undergraduate student research awards. These awards support health science research, social science and humanities, and natural science and engineering research. There are also vice-president, research, and innovation awards, which are open to students “across all disciplines,” Way explained. Students can “apply with a faculty supervisor” to conduct paid research for one term.
For further assistance navigating research at SFU, Way offers hour-long drop-in chats every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at AQ 3020, Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. at AQ 3146, and Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. online. Students can ask any questions, including details on undergraduate student research awards, research application processes, and available opportunities.
