Connect with OUR Staff

OUR Associate Director, JJ Sadler

To locate scheduling with the Office of Undergraduate Research through BoilerConnect, select "Academic Support/Coaching" and then the "Office of Undergraduate Research." See the 1-page reference guide for screenshots.

SOME TOPICS THAT CAN BE DISCUSSED

• Getting started in research (be sure to check out Getting Started first)
• Connecting with potential programs and mentors
• Searching and applying for summer undergraduate research programs (at Purdue and beyond)
• Questions or concerns about your current undergraduate research experience

Consultations are for faculty, staff, graduate students, and post-docs. Undergraduate students should use BoilerConnect to schedule an appointment.

To request a consultation, please complete the request form (Purdue login required). If you have questions regarding the form or wish to follow up on a prior request, you may also contact ugresearch@purdue.edu.  

Frequently requested topics are listed below. If your consultation need is not listed, you can specify your "other" need within the request form. We regularly update and create new resources for UR mentors and can support any of your reasonable needs related to undergraduate research. 

MENTORING UR EXPERIENCES 

• Scope of undergraduate research (based on UR definitions)
• Creating a UR position description
• Using OURConnect to recruit/select UR students 
• Using OURConnect for learning contracts
• Using OURConnect to track UR students (e.g., using data from OURConnect)
• UR onboarding and orientation 
• Dealing with (or avoiding the emergence of) difficult mentee situations 

UR EXPERIENCES IN COURSES

• How to integrate OUR events into courses (e.g., conferences, seminars, etc.)
• OUR resources to use in a course (e.g., presentations, providing feedback, etc.) 

EXTERNAL GRANTS 

• Letter of support 
• Writing UR recruitment/selection into a grant 
• Writing UR training into a grant 
• Writing UR evaluation into a grant 
• Including the OUR as a grant partner 
• Budgeting for UR experiences

EVALUATING UR EXPERIENCES

• Accessing the "Self-Assessment of Mentoring Skills" (SAMS)
• Accessing the "Framework for Evaluating Success in UR"
• Accessing the "Mentor-Mentee Expectation Comparison"
• Designing IRB-exempt students of UR experiences (note: the OUR can supplement, but cannot supersede, any information provided by HRPP)
• Survey instruments used in studies of research experiences 

OTHER UR RESOURCES 

• Accessing or using the resources from the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) 
• On-campus poster printing 

The OUR facilitates presentations or workshops for a variety of campus audiences. To request a presentation, please complete the request form (Purdue login required). If you have questions regarding the form or wish to follow up on a prior presentation request, you may also contact ugresearch@purdue.edu.  

Frequently requested presentation topics are listed below. If you have a presentation need that is not listed, you can specify your "other" need within the request form.

Note the following: 

• Presentation requests should be submitted at least two weeks before the targeted date. 
• If this request is for a course, we recommend you submit your request before the academic period begins to integrate us into your syllabus. 
• We expect you to provide us with an identified list (name and email) of people who attended. (This list is not needed if presenting to a specific course/section.) 

Topics for any Audience: 

• Overview of the Office of Undergraduate Research (15-30 minutes): Within this presentation, the audience will learn about all the OUR programs and/or OUR infrastructure, variable based on the audience make-up.  
• Overview of a specific OUR program (at least 5 minutes for each program): For any OUR program/initiative appearing on the OUR website, this topic covers a more in-depth overview. 
• Q/A Session or Panel (any length): Select this topic if you wish for an OUR staff member to be available for a broad question/answer session, possibly for a group meeting or as part of a panel of experts. 

Topics Targeting Undergraduate/Professional Students: 

• Marketing Yourself for Undergraduate Research (30-45 minutes): Learn how to describe yourself on your resumé/CV, in your interviews, during networking events, and on your online profiles that could help you locate research positions. Additionally, conducting research develops many skills and highlighting those skills, experiences, and results is key for leveraging the hard work you have put into your project when applying for additional research projects, internships, graduate programs, and/or jobs.
• Undergraduate Research 101: Where to Start (30-45 minutes): Learn how to search and apply for undergraduate research opportunities at Purdue. This presentation will discuss the various types of research opportunities, how to find programs or potential mentors, and how to approach the application/email process.
• Creating and Presenting a Research Poster (30-45 minutes): Presenting a research poster is a necessary skill for students who plan to share their research findings in a large setting such as a conference. Learn how to create and present a poster from getting started with formatting to how to organize the content to present.
• Creating and Presenting a Research Talk (30-45 minutes): Learn how to create and present a research talk from getting started with outlining to how to organize the presentation to fit your audience.
• Searching for Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences (45 minutes): Purdue students can apply to summer undergraduate research programs at Purdue and off-campus. Summer research programs can be a great time to expand your discipline knowledge full-time. This presentation will discuss how to search for summer research programs and how to apply for these opportunities.
• Video Presentation Adaptation (various minutes):  Among OUR Resources, we possess a series of pre-recorded videos. Each video may be used in place of an in-person presentation request or, if needed, the topic could be modified for an in-person presentation.  

Topics for faculty/staff or anyone who identifies as a mentor: 

• How to Recruit Undergraduate Students (30-60 minutes): Within this presentation, OUR staff will identify campus resources – with emphasis on the OUR infrastructure – to help mentors recruit and select undergraduate students.

Topics for Mentor/Mentee pairs: 

• Learning contracts (15-20 minutes): Learning contracts provide a foundation for a mentorship, especially if the project is new for the mentee and the pair is new to working with each other. In this session, we will cover what we recommend is included and discussed for a learning contract and how to effectively consider each section.

Mentormaker training is for faculty, staff, graduate students, and post-docs. Undergraduate students are not eligible to request this training.

Mentormaker training is available for a variety of topics. Training can be facilitated:

• For groups (e.g., research programs, campus units, etc.),
• For individuals facilitated in-person or virtually, or 
• For individuals via self-facilitation.