Through the Enhancing Undergraduate Research Endeavors and Creative Activity forum, students showcase their research through oral or poster presentations.
According to Magaly Rincón-Zachary, director of undergraduate research, the forum is a way for students to learn in a more comprehensive way and expand their understanding on a particular phenomenon and a piece of art.
“I call it learning outside the classroom,” Rincón-Zachary said regarding the research the students put into their presentations.
The EURECA office will have a kick-off reception Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 5:30 p.m. and the EURECA forum will happen on Nov. 16 beginning at 9 a.m. in the Clark Student Center.
Students began working with their faculty mentors on the first day of school in preparation for the forum.
“The final details of how to present comes from the last two or three weeks,” Rincón-Zachary said. “They are working from day one.”
The mentorship more than 60 students receive this semester from a faculty member throughout their research is a pillar of EURECA, according to Rincón-Zachary.
“That close interaction with the students enriches the experience,” Rincón-Zachary said.
Rincón-Zachary said she hopes that students get the experience of EURECA, so the office of EURECA has promoted the forum through postmaster, Twitter, Facebook and they asked faculty to announce it in their individual classes.
“We try to promote the forum with all the venues that we have,” Rincón-Zachary said.
The EURECA office created an engagement activity – some call it extra credit – to help faculty motivate the students to come to the forum by evaluating three presentations.
“The point is to have this resource so that the students can come and participate as an audience and learn from attending these particular presentations,” Rincón-Zachary said.
But not all projects are created equal, as Rincón-Zachary said, discussing her favorite presentation.
“I’m going to be biased and say my students,” Rincón-Zachary said. “The ones that I’m mentoring directly.”
According to Rincón-Zachary, the forum is like a discovery.
“[A presentation] blows your mind because it is more than what you expected,” Rincón-Zachary said. “That is a really good feeling, second to none.”
