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Engaging Undergraduates in an REU Site in Conversations About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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Abstract

This paper describes our implementation of a conversation series focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within an existing National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. While many REU programs actively recruit diverse participants, few include instructional time dedicated to DEI topics. Here, we share a curriculum of DEI conversations aimed at a diverse audience and reflect on the success of the program based on participant feedback. Additionally, we provide a detailed facilitation guide to ease implementation of the course.

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Data Availability

Instructional guide is provided as a supplement to the manuscript. Participant survey data are not available as the small number of participants prevents anonymity.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

The “BME Community of Undergraduate Research Scholars for Cancer (BME CUReS Cancer)” REU Site is made possible by NSF Grant 1757885. We multiply our impact by embedding students supported by other sources whenever appropriate. In summer 2021, we embedded an NIH-funded BUILDing SCHOLARS student from The University of Texas at El Paso in our Site (RL5 GM 118969). The Cockrell School of Engineering generously provided support for site outcomes evaluation. We also acknowledge the support of the BME CUReS Scholars by the Biomedical Engineering Department and the Texas4000 organization to enable student presentations at the annual Biomedical Engineering Society meeting.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Nikhith Kalkunte and Brandon Bakka have equal contributions to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Gabriella P. Sugerman, Nikhith Kalkunte, Brandon Bakka, Laura J. Suggs & Mia K. Markey

  2. Department of STEM Education, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Ariel Chasen

  3. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Maura Borrego

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Maura Borrego

Authors
  1. Gabriella P. Sugerman
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  2. Ariel Chasen
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  3. Nikhith Kalkunte
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  4. Brandon Bakka
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  5. Maura Borrego
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  6. Laura J. Suggs
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  7. Mia K. Markey
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the design and conception of the manuscript. The course discussed was implemented by GS, NK, and BB. The program evaluation was conducted by AC and MB. All authors contributed to the manuscript and approved its contents.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriella P. Sugerman.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical Approval

The program evaluation discussed in this manuscript was conducted with Institutional Review Board approval in accordance with the Joint Committee Standards for Educational Evaluation.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the program evaluation.

Consent for Publication

Participants consented to the inclusion of survey data in this manuscript.

Supplementary Information

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Supplementary file1 (PDF 439 kb)

Supplementary file2 (DOCX 16 kb)

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Sugerman, G.P., Chasen, A., Kalkunte, N. et al. Engaging Undergraduates in an REU Site in Conversations About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Biomed Eng Education 4, 137–144 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-023-00113-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-023-00113-7

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