My name is Matthew and I’m reaching out again on behalf of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) team. URO is a student-led, AMS-constituted UBC club. We run the Research EXperience (REX) program where undergraduate student mentees are paired with post-doctoral and graduate student mentors to design a theoretical research project. At the end of the program, the undergraduate students present their finished projects at the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference (MURC), one of the largest undergraduate research conferences in BC. This initiative provides undergraduates early exposure to the valuable world of research without the monetary and logistical constraints associated with the traditional laboratory experience. The 2022-2023 REX program saw the participation of over 110 mentors and 350 undergraduate applicants.
We are currently looking for graduate and postdoctoral students who are interested in being part of our mentorship program and working with undergraduate students to develop a mock research project. We are asking that you assist us by forwarding this reminder message to graduate and postdoctoral students in your department. It would be a great opportunity for graduate students to gain mentorship experience while supporting the undergraduate student body.
Thank you for taking the time to read this email. If you are not part of the graduate student program, please kindly forward this email to the person in charge. We appreciate your help in supporting undergraduate research at the University of British Columbia.
Below is a draft message that could be used (feel free to edit as you wish):
We are emailing on behalf of the AMS club, Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO), to inquire as to whether you would be interested in participating as a mentor in the Research EXperience Program (REX).
What is REX?
REX is a six month long program designed to help undergraduate students build essential research skills through a proposed research project (no results required). The skills acquired by the prospective students include:
- Formulating research questions or topic
- Understanding how to perform literature reviews
- Synthesizing and performing a research project
- Creating & printing a research poster
- Learning how to present a research poster
As a REX mentor you will guide 2-4 undergraduates through a mini proposed research project (no results required) within your field of expertise. Your mentee will present at a local undergraduate conference or publish their project in a local undergraduate journal. URO provides workshops on the basics of research methodology to ease the students’ transition into the program. As a mentor, you will take a supervisory role in the students’ projects, and it is recommended you commit a minimum of 4 hours each month for 6 months (October to March).
For an undergraduate, finding a chance to work/volunteer in a given field of research can be very difficult. REX seeks to help undergraduates experiment with research earlier in their careers and make a more informed decision about graduate school. If this opportunity interests you and you would like to become a mentor, please complete the initial registration form here by 11:59PM on Monday, July 17th. (This is NOT the final registration. The final registration and bio submission opens in early August and will confirm your registration in the program for this year.)
Further information:
Last year’s REX Mentor Brochure
If you have any questions, comments or other inquiries please do not hesitate to contact us at rex.uro.ubc@gmail.com. Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Matthew Chung
REX Committee Co-Chair
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