Undergraduate Research Opportunities at Purdue

As a Purdue Engineer, there are various opportunities to excel academically outside of class. One such opportunity is getting involved in undergraduate research. Engineering students are able to experience this in several ways.

Every engineering discipline offers a variety of research fields to their students with hands-on experience and exposure to the research process and tools for solving real-life problems. The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at Purdue offers a unique prospect for research, known as Vertically Integrated Projects. Under this program, an ECE student can choose from several teams to work on a project under a professor. Examples of different projects include analyzing data from network cameras from all around the world, develop a visual analytic system based on sensor data using front-end technologies or create Purdue’s own System-on-a-Chip.

Purdue also offers an 11-week Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) every year for students interested in pursuing a graduate degree. This also gives students exposure to research studies. The Discovery Undergraduate Research Internships (DURI) program gives students the chance to work with faculty on a project in the interdisciplinary research environment of Discovery Park.

The Undergraduate Research Club was recently founded on campus and aims to promote undergraduate research among STEM students. They also provide tools and guidance to the process of approaching a professor for obtaining research opportunities in a field of their choice.

Participating in undergraduate research has several benefits. It provides you with a chance to work in a team where you can develop leadership, collaboration and communication skills. It allows you to express your creativity in a problem-solving environment. Several teams also work on writing research papers and journals. This could be highly beneficial as it deepens your knowledge on the topic and could improve graduate school applications.

Current student researchers at Purdue have found their experience very rewarding. Taking part in research has helped them navigate what specific industry they would want to get involved. Most times, the field of research they’re involved in is directly related to their coursework. This helps deepen their understanding of the concepts and the need to learn those topics. Also, students are able to engage with people senior to them which is a way to become more intellectually curious.

In conclusion, taking part in a research project helps students view engineering as more than a curriculum and how the work done as an engineer has tangible impacts on the world.

Written by WE Link Recruitment Project Committee Blog Member Shreya Ilango

Purdue Women in Engineering

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