Hands-On Research Experience

This program re-imagines both the undergraduate research experience and the PhD student teaching and mentoring experience. Rather than working on a small piece of a preexisting project, undergraduate and PhD students collaborate in teams to co-design and conduct their research from beginning to end, gaining hands-on experience across each phase of the research process (research problem, literature review, developing research questions, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination).

For PhD students, this program provides hands-on teaching and mentoring experience, while simultaneously being immersed in a pedagogical and professional development environment where time is specifically carved to receive individualized feedback.

Immersive Leadership Development

As students conduct their research projects, they’re immersed in curriculum that maps each phase of the research process to transferable professional skills they’ll need to thrive post-graduation (e.g., project management, leadership styles, communication, time management, conflict resolution, strategic planning). This experience leverages hands-on research experience as a vehicle to develop professional skills and critical competencies (e.g., ethical and critical thinking) that are essential for the next generation of information leaders.  

Communicating the “So What?”

Stories that change the world speak to multiple audiences. This program prioritizes learning how to communicate across silos (essential for Informatics graduates!). Throughout the year, students will learn how to structure narratives and practice communicating the “so what?” of each phase of their research to audiences and stakeholders with varying backgrounds, priorities, worldviews, degrees of technical skills, and knowledge bases. The program culminates with each team producing two deliverables:  

1. A conference paper to submit for peer-review to ensure rigor and publication for academic audiences.
2. A Public Impact Deliverable (project-dependent) that transforms results and communicates the “so what?” to relevant stakeholders beyond academia (e.g., a social media campaign, policy one-sheet, school or employee workshops, short film, a graphic novel or zine).