IU programs prepare students to make big discoveries

A recently launched program focusing on the undergraduate research experience—the 1st-Year Research Immersion Program—is helping students elevate their big ideas into transformative solutions to real-world challenges.

Pairing first-year students with a faculty mentor at our Indianapolis campus, peer groups work on 88 team projects in areas such as bio- and health informatics, liberal and fine arts, psychology, medicine, and more. Across all Indiana University campuses, immersive research opportunities provide our students with valuable experience that fully positions them for future studies and the workplace. 

IU Bloomington offers the STEM Summer Research Program, which places students in small groups under the guidance of a graduate, post-doctoral or faculty mentor, helping students be job-ready for in-demand fields. IU Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences offers the Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Experience (ASURE), which combines best practices in liberal arts and sciences education to offer problem-solving and project-based learning skills, including master teaching. 

The Minority Opportunity Research Experience (MORE) program at IU Northwest pairs students, as research assistants, to work directly with faculty from all disciplines. It places special emphasis on students from underrepresented and lower-income populations.

At IU Kokomo, undergraduate students in the Kokomo Experience and You (KEY) program are working alongside faculty to conduct and publish research. This summer, biology and physics students at IU South Bend participated in marine biology research that has the potential to deter sharks from approaching commercial fishing boats. Their efforts have immediate impact, promoting safety and conservation at sea.

Our faculty, staff, and graduate students make these, and other, research experiences possible. I appreciate their commitment to equip our students with highly valued and transferable skills in critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration so needed in our workforce and in service to our communities.

Pamela Whitten

President
Indiana University