The impact of Biomedical Engineering Research Experiences on Undergraduates understanding of research practices and career trajectories

Abstract

The National Science Foundation and many other institutions support undergraduate research with an expected outcome of broadening participation in careers in science and engineering. Since 2008, the Illinois Institute of Technology has offered approximately 40 students from across the U.S the opportunity to participate in a summer Biomedical Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. The goal of this program is to immerse undergraduates in biomedical engineering laboratories to conduct cutting-edge diabetes research in an effort to influence their long-term interests in science and engineering. The program is also intended to inform the undergraduate students' understandings about research design and practice. In this study, the program's influence on these types of understandings and its potential impact on their career choices was explored. Pre- and post-Likert and open-ended survey items were coupled with a content test and semi-structured interviews to examine the extent to which the program goals were met. Data analysis of the pre- and post-survey items that focused on career and research topics related to the program goals were on average above 4 on a 5-point Likert scale suggesting that the students had high expectations of the program initially and that these expectations were met upon program completion. Additional findings related to how the program influenced the participants fell into three main categories: understandings about the process of research development and practice, career and graduate school decisions, and role of the laboratory personnel. The implications of these findings include a framework that might directly inform the revision and improvement of REU programs that aim to influence the retention of participants in STEM careers. In addition, REU programs also have the potential to engender undergraduate students' informed conceptions of science and engineering research design and practice early on in their career trajectories. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.