USRI Evaluation

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Testimonials

“I want to thank you so much for this opportunity and for creating a program that allows students like me to explore research. As a student who is aspiring to go into graduate studies, this opportunity helped build my understanding, confidence, and relationships in my educational career.”

“I had a great experience with my supervisor and everyone in the lab. I am now completing my honours thesis with the same supervisor, and I think the USRI is a great first step to prepare students for their thesis as it can familiarize them with their supervisor's research and with their lab before completing the thesis.”

"I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of such an amazing internship that fosters both the curiosity and innovation of students.”

"As I was able to openly communicate with my supervisor and was also conducting research in the discipline I will be studying this fall, I was able to bring personal curiosity and passion into each of my research tasks. I feel prepared to begin the semester in curatorial studies as I have been immersed in curatorial research for the summer. Moreover, the internship has given my insight into potential research topics and fields of innovation in the discipline."

“I cannot understate the value I see in this program, particularly for those of us who don't have graduate students in our programs. [The student] made valuable contributions to pushing my research forward this summer, represented 深夜福利站 well in collaboration with other institutions, and is now doing a thesis with me this year."

An evaluation is disseminated to students and supervisors at the end of every USRI program to understand their experience with the program and make any recommended changes. Since the program's inception in 2020, we have collected feedback from five cohorts, marking a 45% response rate from all students who have come through the program (n=1577) and 32% supervisors (n=1262). Overall, students and supervisors rated their experience of the program on an average of 4.3 on a 5-point Likert scale.

Student Outcomes

  • 99% of students felt their confidence to work in a new research environment increased after participation in the USRI program last summer.
  • Most students (74%) rated their confidence to work independently on a new research project after participating in USRI as 'Very Good' or 'Extremely Impactful.'
  • More than 50% of students in this program had no prior research experience.
  • They were involved in a wide breadth of research activities, including the following top five: 
    • Data cleaning (59%)
    • Academic writing (57%)
    • Data/information organization or cleaning (57%)
    • Presentations (49%)
    • Quantitative analysis (45%)
  • Students indicated they developed more than 20 skills, including the following top five:
    1. Organization, time, and resource management (64%)
    2. Communication (56%)
    3. Application of research methods (51%)
    4. Data Analysis (50%)
    5. Strategic or critical thinking (50%)
  • The top five values students felt were most exercised, developed and/or enhanced included:
    1. Personal responsibility (76%)
    2. Curiosity (70%)
    3. Appreciation of research excellence (72%)
    4. Self-regulation (55%)
    5. Creativity (49%)
  • 94% of students would recommend the USRI program to another student. One student explained, "I would definitely recommend the USRI program to another student. It offers a unique opportunity to build academic skills both as a student and a researcher, encouraging you to think more analytically and approach challenges with a more informed perspective. Additionally, the program allows you to build valuable connections with other students and supervisors while exploring and refining your research interests."
  • 57% of students indicated that their research interest 'Extremely' or 'Moderately increased' due to their participation in the USR program.

Supervisor Outcomes

  • A third of supervisors (31%) did not have a previous mentorship and/or advisory relationship with the student(s) supervised.
  • Yet… 98% of supervisors rated their intention to maintain a relationship with their student as 'high' or 'very high'.
  • The majority of supervisors (73%) stated that they were able to enhance their mentorship skills as a result of the program. Other notable benefits include: 
    • Enhanced scholarly performance (42%)
    • Enhanced relationships and collaborations  (30%)
    • Enhanced communications (29%)
    • Enhanced research skills (25%)
  • 90% of supervisors indicated that they would recommend the USRI program to other faculty, with the other 10% stating that they may recommend it.

 

Contact

The USRI program is administered at the faculty/school level. For program-specific questions, please contact 深夜福利站 Research Internal Grants, intgrant@uwo.ca.