Briefing 2012 www.shef.ac.uk/sure/lets

Today’s Briefing Welcome and Introductions Louise Woodcock, Head of Learning and Teaching Services SURE 2012 Overview Louise Woodcock and Amy Jeffries (SURE Co-ordinator, LeTS) SURE – An academic supervisor’s perspective Professor Tammy Hervey (School of Law) SURE - A student’s perspective Bernadette Deere (previous SURE participant) Key information and deadlines Amy Jeffries Any Questions?

Why A SURE Scheme? To support our aim of celebrating and strengthening the links between learning, research and teaching To increase student awareness of what academic research involves To enable students to extend their skills and knowledge (Sheffield Graduate Attributes)

SURE: Summary of Scheme Funded research scholarships for undergraduates Become directly involved in the research activity of the University Take part in real life research projects in subject areas of special interest to you Experience what it´s like to work in partnership with academic staff or collaboratively in a research group

What you will gain: Students Valuable experience for your studies and life beyond Deeper knowledge of a subject you’re passionate about Enhanced research skills Additional skills such as project management, collaboration and communication Awareness of the academic research environment and career options Enhanced CV and employability

What you will gain: Staff Progression of your research interests and activity through a student project that connects in with your aims Working with a student who shares your passion for your subject Opportunity to support the development of students who have potential to progress to PG level studies.

What will students do? Depending on the subject area: All projects require: Experiments Archive work Interviews or focus groups A survey Review existing literatures Visit precedent studies Facilitate participatory research A time of writing up A programme of work Appropriate outputs as decided with the supervisor Outputs could be an integral part of a larger ongoing research project or a stand-alone piece of work

What will students produce? Outcomes depend on the topic and methods All projects will require a final report All projects need to be disseminated to students’ peers, in departments and beyond. Dissemination may include producing a poster about the research, giving a PowerPoint presentation, podcasting or writing an article for a professional journal A Showcase of SURE 2012 is planned for February.

What’s offered? Bursaries based on a standard rate of £180 per week full time – maximum pay is £1080.00 Projects will run for 6 weeks commencing 11thJune Training day: 11th June Student payments are made in two parts Some funds are available to cover materials and other costs needed for projects Students will be supported in their research in two main ways: by academic staff supervisors; by involvement in the SURE student network

Prof Tamara Hervey (Tammy) School of Law Previous SURE Academic Supervisor

Why participate in SURE? Double (or more than double) your research capacity 12 sole or co-authored publications from summer internships since 2004 Work with an enthusiast Show students a real research experience Show ability to supervise a research project Not easy to get this experience in some disciplines 16/06/2019 © The University of Sheffield

Some pitfalls ... and solutions Over-estimate student ability Over-estimate own ability Carefully plan time; think about student skills; pick from among best students in cohort Be honest! Learning process for both parties? Be ruthless! 16/06/2019 © The University of Sheffield

More pitfalls ... and solutions Student isolation Ethics SURE helps; use School PGR community and admin staff Be open and clear about expectations and outcomes 16/06/2019 © The University of Sheffield

Previous SURE Student Participant Bernadette Deere Previous SURE Student Participant

How to apply? Academic staff nominate potential projects. They put forward their proposal to SURE. If it is accepted, they will seek a suitable undergraduate student to work on the project. As a student, you should ask a member of staff in your department whether there are appropriate projects for you in your department Students identify a project idea AND a member of academic staff who is prepared to work with them in a supervisory role. Students put forward their proposal to SURE. If it is accepted, the member of staff will be asked to confirm their agreement to supervise the project

Funding Criteria 80 projects will be funded this year (16 per Faculty) Bursary Funding Panel (including Faculty Directors of Research and Teaching) will select projects based on the information supplied in the research application. The Panel will be looking for: A clearly defined objective Authentic discipline-based or interdisciplinary research activity That projects are not part of the student’s normal programme of work

Who is Eligible? Students need to be a registered UG at University of Sheffield during 2011/12, studying at level 2 (or level 3 if 4 year programme) Students will need to have the signed agreement of an Academic Supervisor before applying for funding

Key Information Complete an Application Form Attach a Covering Letter Refer to the Guidance Notes Deadline to apply - 12 noon on 16th March Hard, signed copy to Amy Jeffries, LeTS, 205 Brook Hill Electronic copy email to -surescheme@sheffield.ac.uk

Key Dates 2012 Project start date/ training event 11th June 1st instalment payment 15th June Project end date 20th July 2nd instalment on submission of a completed report Showcase event: February 2013 Application deadline 12 Noon 16th March Notification of outcomes by 12th April Pre project information event April / May (date TBC)

Contact Details Amy Jeffries, LeTS Email: surescheme@sheffield.ac.uk Website: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sure/lets