Northern Kentucky University
Internationalizing Undergraduate Chemistry Research at Northern Kentucky University
Institution
Northern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Isabelle Lagadic; Sébastien Gauthier; Françoise Robin-Le Guen; Augustin Mot; Radu Silaghi-Dumitrescu
Abstract
Preparing undergraduate students to succeed in a society and work platforms rapidly moving toward globalization is becoming increasingly important in all academic disciplines. For the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines with sequential and tight curricula, providing undergraduates with study abroad experiences may be very challenging. Yet, most of the future jobs awaiting current undergraduates will involve one or more STEM disciplines and will require a sense of global skills and ability to work effectively across cultures and languages. Conducting scientific research is an area where those issues can easily be circumvented and is a way to provide STEM students with exposure to today’s global society. Over the past four years, the department of chemistry at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) has established an International Summer Research Exchange program that hosted a total of 25 students coming from China, Ecuador, France and Romania to conduct research alongside NKU chemistry faculty and students during the summer. Recently, two NKU chemistry majors, Travis Schuyler and Samantha Emery, had the opportunity to work on research projects at our partner institutions in France and Romania, and next summer, five NKU science major students will join research groups in Ecuador, France and Romania to work on projects in environmental sciences, chemistry and biochemistry. This poster will highlight the key features of this program as well as Travis Schuyler’s and Samantha Emery’s experiences abroad.
Internationalizing Undergraduate Chemistry Research at Northern Kentucky University
Preparing undergraduate students to succeed in a society and work platforms rapidly moving toward globalization is becoming increasingly important in all academic disciplines. For the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines with sequential and tight curricula, providing undergraduates with study abroad experiences may be very challenging. Yet, most of the future jobs awaiting current undergraduates will involve one or more STEM disciplines and will require a sense of global skills and ability to work effectively across cultures and languages. Conducting scientific research is an area where those issues can easily be circumvented and is a way to provide STEM students with exposure to today’s global society. Over the past four years, the department of chemistry at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) has established an International Summer Research Exchange program that hosted a total of 25 students coming from China, Ecuador, France and Romania to conduct research alongside NKU chemistry faculty and students during the summer. Recently, two NKU chemistry majors, Travis Schuyler and Samantha Emery, had the opportunity to work on research projects at our partner institutions in France and Romania, and next summer, five NKU science major students will join research groups in Ecuador, France and Romania to work on projects in environmental sciences, chemistry and biochemistry. This poster will highlight the key features of this program as well as Travis Schuyler’s and Samantha Emery’s experiences abroad.