The spring UNL Research Fair April 4-5 features sessions to help graduate students successfully compete for jobs and prepare undergraduates for graduate school, and showcases student research.
The 11th Research Fair is a campuswide celebration of research, creativity and scholarship. Now held biannually, the spring Research Fair focuses on student development, while the fall Research Fair explores some of UNL’s research priorities in greater depth.
“The spring Research Fair is a great opportunity to focus on professional and career development and the skills students have developed as part of their graduate school experience,” said Laurie Bellows, assistant dean of the Office of Graduate Studies.
Events are free and open to the public, but some require registration. For more information, including a schedule, speaker information and online registration, go to http://researchfair.unl.edu.
The Research Fair kicks off at 9 a.m. today with “Be Nimble: Building Transferable Skills for Career Success in Academic and Nonacademic Positions.” At this workshop for graduate students and postdocs, Rique Campa, associate dean of the Graduate School at Michigan State University and professor of fisheries and wildlife, will discuss building skills for career success and tailoring them for academic and nonacademic job searches. Registration is required.
Graduate students, graduate chairs and faculty are invited to an 11:30 a.m. luncheon and talk following the April 4 workshop. Campa will give a keynote address, “Graduate Education and Career and Professional Development Opportunities: Building Partnerships for the Future,” which will address ways to better integrate professional and career development in graduate programs’ curricula. Registration is required.
Other speakers and events include:
• The Graduate Research Poster Session from 1:30-3:30 p.m. April 4. Posters are based on research and creativity by UNL graduate students in the previous year. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend the session to view students’ outstanding work. The 2011 poster session included more than 150 participants representing 32 departments and a range of academic disciplines.
• “Planning and Preparing for Graduate School,” a workshop for undergraduates, is 5 p.m. April 4. Justina Clark, director of graduate student recruitment, will lead a panel discussion. Panelists are Bellows; Laura Damuth, director of undergraduate research and fellowship adviser, University Honors Program; and Rick Lombardo, director of UNL’s Office of Postdoctoral Studies. Registration is required.
• The Undergraduate Research Conference and poster session, showcasing students’ research and creativity, is 3-5 p.m. April 5. The conference is open to any undergraduate who has participated in a research experience at UNL. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend.
The spring Research Fair is sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies, Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Research and Economic Development.
— Ashley Washburn, Research and Economic Development