Promoting Research Dissemination among Undergraduate Students: A Pilot Internal Conference

A strong and functional teaching-research nexus brings significant benefits to students and academic institutions. Although tertiary institutions are increasingly integrating research into their courses, most undergraduate students refrain from publishing research derived from their coursework. Research dissemination is vital for boosting students’ confidence in their research skills which can contribute to their decision to pursue a higher research degree or a research career. Furthermore, successful publications reinforce the research culture and elevate the profiles of institutions. To promote research dissemination among undergraduate IT and engineering students in our university, we organised a faculty-level research conference. The aim was to provide a low-barrier avenue for students to present their work and engage in scientific discussions with a wider audience than in the classroom, all in a less stressful setting than external conferences. Our initial findings align with previous studies in that students who participated in the conference found the experience fulfilling, with some expressing their willingness to develop their research further and disseminate it wider. However, many students showed reluctance to participate in the conference, despite several incentives that were announced. Our next steps will involve better integration of the conference into our course offerings and conducting a student survey to understand the key factors behind students’ low participation rates.