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SFU Strategic Research Plan (SRP) Priority Project

Involving Undergraduate Students in Research

VPRI portfolio lead
Valorie Crooks
Associate Vice-President, Research
Faculty lead
Paul Kingsbury
Professor, Associate Dean, Undergraduate (FENV)

On this Page:

  1. Challenge
  2. Action
  3. Project Goals
  4. Working Group

 

Challenge

SFU is a research-intensive institution, doing world-class work across a wide range of disciplines. Our undergraduate students should have the opportunity to learn about and to participate in that research.

 

Action

We will review the VPRI Undergraduate Student Research Awards program to consider its goals, funding levels and accessibility. We will create web resources to highlight and support undergraduate researchers.

Working with the provost, deans, and the library, we will consider new ways to provide undergraduates with exposure to SFU research including opportunities to participate and potentially to earn degree credits for the work.

With communications and marketing (C&M) teams across the university, including SFU's central C&M portfolio, we will consider how to raise the profile of SFU research among undergraduates at the institution.

Project Goals

  • January 2024

    Higher-level conversations have started to seek and evaluate the current USRA program. There has also been a review of recent USRA utilization data.

  • October 2023

    VPRI Office contributed $8k to the 2024 Undergraduate Research Symposium event to cover cost of poster/presenter awards and as honoraria for creating a graduate student mentorship initiative. 

  • January 2024

    It is an ongoing effort to identify and implement ways to amplify communications for events in the university that involve research by, or research opportunities for, undergraduates.

  • February 2024

    Exploratory conversations are underway with Fraser Health to identify high-quality opportunities for partner-engaged research opportunities for SFUMS students.

 

Working Group

Name

Role

Department/Office

Valorie Crooks (Co‐Chair)

Associate Vice-President, Research

Vice President Research and Innovation (VPRI)

Paul Kingsbury (Co‐Chair)

Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Learning and Teaching pro tem

Provost and VP Academic (VPA)

Rishu Bagga VP, University and Academic Affairs Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS)

Varundeep Chahal

Strategic Projects Manager

VPRI

Andreanne Doyon Associate Professor, Incoming Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies Faculty of Environment

Nancy Hawkins

Associate Dean, Academic

Faculty of Science

Julie Jones Research Commons Librarian SFU Library

Kamal Masri

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs

Beedie School of Business

Alison Moore

Digital Scholarship Librarian

SFU Library

Michael Sjoerdsma

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies

 Faculty of Applied Sciences