Case study: International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR)
ICUR is an exciting event where research is shared on a global platform by undergraduates involved in a hugely diverse range of projects. Using the latest video-conferencing technology, ICUR enables students from institutions in eight countries, across five continents to communicate with each other in real time. Undergraduates present their research in joint sessions alongside peers on the other side of the world in a single 48-hour forum. Students are a vital part of the success of the event, holding key positions of responsibility in developing and organising the conference.
Department(s) / colleagues involved
Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL), Monash-Warwick Alliance, Audio-Visual Services, CURIE at Monash, Students from across departments
Our aim was to …
Ensure that our students felt a part of the academic community, with a voice and the ability to contribute to research discussions in the sector. We also wanted to give them a meaningful global experience without leaving their home campus; side-stepping the often significant financial obstacle of travel. ICUR aims to help students look beyond their experiences, to see the complexities and interconnectedness of the wider world, challenging them to examine their work from an international perspective and to consider potential impact globally.
What we did …
Staff from Warwick’s Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL) worked in partnership with colleagues at Monash University and our own Audio Visual team. We set up our first event in May 2013, including presenters from the UK, Australia, South Africa and Malaysia. Following the success of the first conference, we built on that experience, developing a 5-year plan for the initiative. Each year we forged relationships with new institutions across the world and developed support and training materials for participating students. ICUR 2018, the 6th conference, was our largest event yet, with around 500 students involved as presenters, volunteers and audience members around the world.
The outcome has been …
Staff in IATL, and our colleagues at Monash, have developed the programme to support the learning needs of student presenters. The ‘ICUR Experience’ covers a wealth of activities, including a wide range of research training activities that span 9 months: workshops designed to impart crucial research conduct and communication skills, student-led research and mentoring networks, grant-writing training schemes, publication training and support, masterclasses with academics and industry – all these events, and others, orbit the conference, serving as rich educational preludes and epilogues.
The benefit/impact has been …
In the past six years, ICUR has given over 1600 students from 15 institutions in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, the US, Indonesia, Australia, and the UK the opportunity to present research on a global stage. From ICUR we have developed new initiatives, including the Compass mentoring programme and a joint Monash-Warwick module, as well as creating international relationships with institutions on 5 continents. ICUR’s impact has also been recognised in the sector through the IIE’s Heiskell Awards, the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards, the Victorian International Education Awards and the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards.
This supports the Education Strategy by …
We have had presentations from students in 24 departments at ICUR, and all presentations are themed into interdisciplinary panels. The internationalisation experience offered includes the benefit of students being able to connect with each other across the world, training sessions on intercultural communication, and The Compass Programme gives students the opportunity to work in mentored international groups. As for student research, ICUR has given hundreds of Warwick students the opportunity to present their research on the world stage, creating a culture that says that all students have something to contribute to academic discussions within the sector.
The response of students / staff has been …
Brilliant! We have received extensive feedback that by presenting at ICUR (from the point of submitting an abstract and considering how their research fits in to the ICUR Research Streams, to going through the abstract revision process, to presenting, to the international Q&A), the impact on the global and multidisciplinary outlook of individual students is significant and long-lasting. Students’ confidence is boosted, and they enjoy meeting and interacting with their peers from different disciplines, creating new academic friendships and experiencing new research perspectives.
Our next steps will be …
We are very excited to be developing a ‘Virtual Conference Centre’. This is a conceptual space and we’re hoping that the virtual building terminology we use will help to demystify the complexity of hosting and attending a video conference event. Rather than giving delegates a set of very IT-centric instructions, they can be presented with recognisable things such as floor plans and room numbers. The Virtual Conference Centre should give even more students the opportunity to interact with us without leaving the comfort of their home!
To find out more, you can contact …
Caroline Gibson, c.a.l.gibson@warwick.ac.uk
Emma Barker, e.barker@warwick.ac.uk