Faculty Research Project Teams

The Faculty Research Project Teams provide students with real research and real teamwork experience. Faculty Research Projects can be found at Faculty Research Projects page.

The Faculty Research Project teams unite undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in a team-based environment to advance research projects in science and engineering. Motivated undergraduate and graduate students who join these multi-year teams benefit significantly.

Aside from their research tasks, all students also contribute to their team’s knowledge base: an online repository of references and training materials that allow new team members to quickly get up-to-speed when they join, regardless of experience level. Joining a Faculty Research Project thus provides a unique chance for students to gain experience in team and project management, allowing them to become both great researchers and great leaders.

• Creates Long-Term Research & Development Experience
  Students will work on a multidisciplinary research team for a minimum of two semesters, gaining valuable research and design experience. A minimum of two semesters provides students with the time and context to familiarize themselves with the lab, make meaningful contributions, and foster design and leadership skills.

• Cultivates Leadership and Mentoring
  The long-term, sustainable nature of Faculty Research Project teams creates a mentoring environment, where faculty and graduate students mentor teams, experienced undergrad students mentor new team members, and students rotate step into leadership roles as others graduate.

• Benefits for Students:
  • Work side-by-side with experts in their fields
  • Gain insight into the process of real-world research and deep technical training
  • With long-term time investment, students are provided opportunities to publish in academic journals and conferences

• Benefits for Faculty:
  • Receive recruitment, academic advising and team development support from MDP staff
  • Efficient use of the time and talents of passionate students who will make tangible and sustainable contributions to their research interests.
  • Long-term time investment from students, requiring less start-up time

Each team is unique, and the Faculty Research Project Program can accommodate the changing needs of research by providing flexible and scalable team structures --  Most teams start with a small “seed” group of 6-8 students directly overseen by one or more faculty sponsors. As teams grow, they divide their work among several subteams, each lead by an experienced student.

Want to learn more about how MDP could support your research efforts? Please contact Program Manager Joy Adams: joyadams@umich.edu