Presentation by Dr Nathan Roberts and Dr Ian Mossman (Cardiff University) at the Research-Teaching Practice in Wales Conference, 10th September 2013, at the University of Wales, Gregynog Hall. Slidecast edited by Professor Simon Haslett.

1. A broader view of Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Programmes (UROPs):
collaborative culture and curriculum
development
Dr Nathan Roberts
Dr Iain Mossman
CUROP Co-ordinators

2. Overview
• What are UROPs?
• Benefits of UROPs for students
• How the Cardiff UROP works
• Understanding the intangible benefits
of CUROP
• Conclusion and Questions

3. What is a UROP?
• Key features
– Programme of placements for UG
students with University research
staff/teams
– Often run over the summer
– Sometimes students are paid,
sometimes unpaid
• History
– Began in America
– Came to UK through Imperial
College

4. Benefits of UROPs
• Particularly student focused
– Locks, 2002
• Understanding the impact
on student retention rates,
particularly from minority
groups
– John and Creighton, 2011
• Student skills development
• Confidence
• Progression to
postgraduate study?

5. How CUROP works
• Applications made from academic staff only,
although students are encouraged to take their
ideas to lecturers should they be interested in
the scheme
• Applications judged primarily on
benefit to students
• Projects funded for up to 8 weeks
• Over 150 students supported in
2013
• Students must produce a poster to present at
an annual poster event, and many write up
reports and papers with their supervisors.

6. The range of projects at Cardiff
Total number of projects in each College 2013
34
Arts, Humanities and
Social Sciences
51
Biomedical and Life
Sciences
Physical Sciences and
Engineering
61

7. Understanding the intangible
benefits of CUROP

8. Institutional development and policy
• Studies of admissions and progression
(Welsh Bacc, comparing A Level
Examining Boards)
• Evaluating support structures, for
example, Maths Support Service and
the development of diagnostic testing
for student numeracy

9. Impact on teaching
• Production of learning resources
• Pedagogical research and studies of
the student experience
• Learning journeys of non-traditional
students

10. The ‘mechanics’ of research activity
For new academic members of staff:
• Grant writing
• Project management
• Supervision
• Dissemination
• Getting new laboratories and research
clusters up and running

11. Developing new research areas
- Low-risk, exploratory, innovative
“CUROP enables us to try out
speculative ideas without there being any
pressure for a positive result. The other
mechanism we use for this sort of thing is
the UG project but students are very
concerned that their project should „work‟
even if we aren‟t. CUROP doesn‟t really
suffer from that drawback.”

12. Developing new research areas
- Nurture collaborations
- “This is the sort of short pilot scheme
that is necessary to underpin „odd‟
observations that would otherwise be
very difficult to fund, thus the CUROP
of 8 weeks was excellent”
- Collaborative ethos with students
(including on their experience)

14. • “I have met with quite a lot of hostility from regular users along
the lines of "all the kit will be broken", and "Safety will be
compromised" etc. These CUROP positions over the last
couple of years have been extremely helpful in building
confidence in undergraduates using what to some are precious
and research only facilities and demonstrating that with effort
on a lecturers part it can be done.
These CUROP projects have proved that undergraduates can
be responsible, useful, and more importantly NOT a liability in
the cleanroom. It is taking real effort to win people over, but
my long term intention is that some undergraduate teaching
and project work is associated with cleanroom activity.”

15. Synoptic Physics
•
•
•
•
Physics Curriculum in 2011/12 prepared students for careers as physicists
CUROP project Summer 2012, „Careers Destinations of Physics Graduates‟
New core module for 2nd Year Students Spring Semester 2012/13 – Synoptic Physics and
Synoptic Astrophysics
Focus on student skills development: Teamwork; problem solving; numeracy; IT;
communication; time management; leadership; digital literacy; reflective learning;
commercial awareness.

16. Conclusion
• Benefits go beyond the opportunities for placement
students
• Wider benefits across the university include:
– Reflective research on the student experience
– Development of teaching materials
– Opportunities for ECRs
– Testing new research areas
– Curriculum development and design
• However, it involves (long-term) investment both
financial and in terms of time