In celebration and support of the Undergraduate Research in the United States, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) declared the week of April 11, 2011 as Undergraduate Research Week.

Zayed University in conjunction with CUR staged its first Undergraduate Research Week this April in Dubai Campus to raise awareness about the importance of promoting and institutionalizing undergraduate research at ZU and in the region.

This international event highlighted the preliminary research work of select ZU scholars who are taking part in the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program; a new research initiative launched last summer by the Office of Research.  

The event comprised of different activities which encouraged undergraduate students across ZU campuses to engage in research activities and to promote an enduring undergraduate research culture.

The opening event of the Undergraduate Research Week saw the launch of the Undergraduate Research Club (URC), an Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) initiative. Provost Dan Johnson and Associate Provost Dr. Rex Taylor inaugurated the Club in the presence of Zayed University faculty and students. The vision of the URC is to create a new generation of young ZU researchers and empower this community of young researchers with strong research skills. URC aims to bring this awareness through a range of different activities such as training workshops, guest lectures and seminars to give researchers an opportunity to develop their skills and give them a broader perspective of diverse research topics and methods.

Dr. Maher Khelifa, Chair of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Steering committee, followed with a presentation titled “Learning Through Research: A Discovery-based Education” in which he highlighted the valuable gains derived from pursuing research at the undergraduate level for students, faculty, the institution, and the nation. He also highlighted the role of undergraduate research at Zayed University in enhancing UAE nationals research capacity, in promoting research culture, and in connecting research scholars with the community using a problem-solving approach. The presentation also included the current program challenges and future goals.

During this event Undergraduate researchers also had an opportunity to showcase the exciting research they are undertaking. Each student created a visual presentation of their research that communicated the goals of their research project, methodology and the relevance of their research in the UAE.

On the second day of the Undergraduate Research Week, URSP students along with their Mentor Dr Akbar Keshodkar discussed the importance of Undergraduate Research Mentorship. “Mentoring Undergraduate Research” was an interactive lecture that gave the audience a chance to ask relevant questions regarding the mentorship program and to discuss skills young researchers have acquired from their experience of working with a mentor.  The URSP students shared their personal experiences on how mentorship has aided their research activities.