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Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL)

Student Research

IATL and Student Research

At IATL, one of our signature pedagogies is Student as Researcher. We see student research as a pedagogy to be embedded in the curriculum, and as a way to engage students more fully in the life of the University and we do this in the following ways:

  • Offer IATL Student Research Grants to encourage the development of student-led, original and innovative research
  • Create opportunities for students to present their findings at a research conference e.g. IATL's ICUR experience, WorldCUR (being hosted at Warwick in 2023) and BCUR
  • Provide students with opportunities to publish research in Reinvention
  • Network and influence UG research initiatives nationally and internationally

Student Research in the Curriculum

'Students as researchers' is an active pedagogy emphasising the process of undergraduate research and enquiry which can take place within and beyond the curriculum to develop student knowledge and understanding and, in some cases, contribute to the broader knowledge base of their discipline.

IATL offers opportunities for students to undertake Student Devised Assessments (SDAs) that provide students with an opportunity to engage more critically with themes and theories introduced in their module or, as in Censorship and Society, work with their fellow students to organise and present at a student conference.

Student Research Grants

Students can apply for funding for research projects of up to £1500. Previous funding recipients have engaged in many different research projects and a summary of some of the outcomes can be found on IATL's Sharing Practice website. Many students and staff have applied jointly for funding to work on collaborative research projects.

ICUR

The International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) is an annual, two-day academic conference that showcases the best in undergraduate research from around the world. It provides undergraduate researchers with a unique opportunity to present their research in real-time, video-linked sessions from their home campus.

ICUR is student-centred and student-led, with a team of Student Directors from the Universities of Monash and Warwick. IATL provides guidance to Warwick students to enable them to prepare their abstracts and to engage in international research dialogue. Attendance at ICUR provides students with material for their CV, extensive feedback, valuable networking opportunities, and an introduction to research as a potential career.

British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR)

BCURLink opens in a new window is an annual interdisciplinary conference that offers undergraduate students from participating institutions the opportunity to prepare and give a presentation on their research. Warwick University is a key BCUR partner and IATL manages this partnership and participates in the BCUR Executive Committee. IATL promotes the opportunity to present at BCUR to Warwick students and then supports students to write and submit their abstracts. In 2012 Warwick hosted BCUR and will be hosting BCUR again in April 2023 alongside WorldCURLink opens in a new window.

Prior to BCUR, a smaller event called Posters in ParliamentLink opens in a new window is held where participating institutions send their two best BCUR presentation applications to the Houses of Parliament to present to MPs, policymakers and fellow academics. Since the Posters in Parliament competition began, Warwick has had one student receive the runner-up award and, in 2018 and 2020, Warwick students were named the overall winners.

Spoken Presentation

Poster Session

Performance Session

Reinvention Journal

Reinvention is an online, peer-reviewed journal, dedicated to the publication of high-quality undergraduate student research. The journal welcomes academic articles from all disciplinary areas and all universities. All articles undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and refereeing by two or three anonymous referees. Reinvention is published bi-annually and only houses papers written by undergraduate students or papers written collaboratively by undergraduate students and academics.

Reinvention is published through the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning at the University of Warwick and supported by the Monash Warwick Alliance.

Influencing UG Research Nationally and Internationally

IATL's Journal Manager, Emma Barker, and IATL's Head of Academic Projects and Administration, Caroline Gibson, have contributed a chapter to the recently published Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate ResearchLink opens in a new window. Edited by an international team of world authorities in undergraduate research, the handbook includes approaches from around the world and across the disciplines. Emma and Caroline’s contribution is entitled ‘Dissemination in Undergraduate Research: Challenges and Opportunities’ and includes reflections on nearly two decades of work supporting students to disseminate their research findings.

Emma and Caroline were also recently invited to Dublin in May 2022 to speak at a Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) seminar titled ‘Promoting undergraduate research at third level - challenges and opportunities post Covid-19’. The seminar explored the impact of the rapid digital conversion of undergraduate research activities during the Covid 19 pandemic and reviewed the challenges and opportunities posed by this new online format both nationally and internationally. Emma and Caroline spoke about the International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR), the changes that had to be made to the conference in 2020 and 2021 and the impact and legacy of those changes, both positive and negative.

Other activities undertaken by IATL staff include being on the Executive Committee of BCUR and on the organising committee for the forthcoming WorldCUR 2023.