Today, The College’s STEM Summer Research programming consists of six total programs including the initial two in London and Granada. The programs span across five different countries (England, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, and Australia) and have hosted students for scientific research now in the triple digits. In just the last two years, we have seen student numbers for these programs increase by 80%.
But this success started small. In 2013, our STEM programming only consisted of two programs; one in London at the Royal Veterinary College for biomedical science research, and the other in Granada at the Andalusian Inter-University Institute for Earth System Research. These two initial programs served three and two students respectively from Spelman College and served as the beginning of The College’s commitment to STEM and leading the way for STEM research abroad.
Our programs listed in order of establishment are in Glasgow at the University of Glasgow (Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, & Psychology), Dublin at University College Dublin (Biology, Computer Science, Ecology, Earth Science, & Physics), Brisbane at The University of Queensland (Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry, & Science Education), and Limerick at the University of Limerick (Engineering, Science Education, and Public Science Engagement).
The communication of science to the public and matters around science pedagogy are both important to the STEM. So, we are excited that beginning just this past summer to be offering research in these areas to students who are either majoring in STEM or STEM education.
These innovative research experiences that we have established at academically rigorous and research-intensive institutions overseas has led to many similar US institutions sending us their students for summer participation.
These institutions include The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas, Texas Tech University, University of Arkansas, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania. I very much enjoy working alongside advisors and faculty in our partner institutions to find ways to have more STEM students benefit from study abroad.
The College is also happy to share the first student publication to have resulted from one of our research programs. Elizabeth Gaston from Clemson University is a 2017 alumna of our program in Brisbane and authored a review article concerning her research in the journal of Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine. The title of the paper is “Nano- and micro-materials in the treatment of internal bleeding and uncontrolled hemorrhage.”
The STEM discipline where we host the most students is the biological/biomedical sciences. We were at capacity for these projects over the last two years and unfortunately had to turn away interested students well before the program deadlines. To address this, The College decided to expand our research offerings yet again to another location in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen for summer 2019. This program will be host students on biomedical research projects in either The Institute of Medical Sciences or The Rowett Institute, both home to one of the best medical sciences programs in the U.K.
The College is both proud and excited about our past and current work in international STEM undergraduate research. We look forward to continuing these efforts, our rapid growth, and continuing to improve the student learning experience and offerings of these STEM programs.