Facilitating an International Research Experience Focused on Applied Nanotechnology and Surface Chemistry for American Undergraduate Students Collaborating with Mentors at a German Educational and Research Institution

Abstract

The “International Research Experience for Students (IRES)” at Doane University (DU) located in Crete, Nebraska, exposed undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students to international research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. The international collaboration team included three undergraduate researchers per year from DU, one faculty member and one postdoctoral fellow from DU, two faculty mentors at KIT, and several graduate, post-doctoral, and technical staff at KIT. Prior to departure to Germany, the students received extensive research training, as well as culture and language preparation from the mentors at DU. While in Germany, the students received an in-depth orientation to Karlsruhe, Germany, Europe, the research setting at KIT, and the international collaborators. The eight week summer projects over three years involved nanolithography, nano- to microsized array fabrication, organic synthesis using click chemistry, and surface modifications for sensing and other biomedical research applications. When the students returned from Germany, they continued to conduct research at DU and train other undergraduate students using the expertise acquired from KIT. The DU research students, including the IRES scholars, learned oral and written communication skills. They presented their KIT and DU research results at weekly seminars and at local and national meetings. An external assessment firm evaluated the program, the students, and mentors on a yearly basis before and after the summer research. This enabled all participants to continuously improve the learning objectives and the program execution including three program adjustments implemented in year 2 or 3. The survey data shows that the IRES program provided an enriching experience for the students in research and international culture and established a successful base of collaboration for mentors.

Graphical Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program (Solicitation 18-505) is funded by the National Science Foundation to encourage international research participation by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students from the United States. The IRES program supports active, high quality research participation by undergraduate or graduate students in an international research environment with mentorship from researchers at a foreign host lab. The program intends to educate the next generation of STEM leaders who are globally engaged to strengthen the US economy.

Recent trends in international research funding and student learning have encouraged exchange of knowledge through global collaboration especially as it pertains to research and higher education.^1-3 Best practices of domestic and international student exchange programs have been reported and include student activities, recruiting, unique troubleshooting, and outcomes for student success in a culturally immersive research project.^4-6 These programs have facilitated international collaboration and education by the exchange of STEM students in a foreign country.

The following report outlines the IRES Track I program implemented and executed at Doane University (DU) with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. DU is a private, primarily undergraduate institution located in Crete, NE, USA. In fall 2018, DU had an enrollment of 1011 undergraduate students. 81% of students in fall 2018 identified as white. 75% of students were from the state of Nebraska, and 2% of students were from outside the United States. 23% of DU’s student population had declared a major in a STEM field, and these students must earn a minimum of six credit hours of research credit by completing research under a STEM faculty member during the academic year to graduate. Furthermore, research at DU is conducted by 20–30 students under STEM faculty during the summer break. In the academic year 2017–2018, DU graduated 173 students with 34% earning a degree in a STEM field.

The collaboration between DU and KIT was established because of an overlap of complementary research interests and a desire to provide a valuable and unique research experience to DU students. Several aspects will be described here, including the recruiting, preparation, research training, assessment, and outcomes of the program.

IRES PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AND EXECUTION

Program Participants

The IRES program at DU was completed in a three year time period between the fall of 2015 and the summer of 2018. In the summer of 2016, three undergraduate students traveled to KIT with the DU faculty member and principal investigator of the IRES grant. In summer 2017, three students and the DU postdoctoral mentor traveled to KIT. In summer 2018, three students traveled to KIT with the faculty member, and the postdoctoral mentor remotely monitored student progress. Although new students were chosen each year, the postdoctoral mentor was the same in summer 2017 and 2018. The postdoctoral mentor performed generally the same tasks as the students, primarily providing support for students in preparation of organizational materials such as daily task lists, experiment planning, notebooks, and presentations. Each year of the program involved the same DU faculty mentor, who provided primary instruction for the preparation of the course and research while the scholars were in the United States, and two KIT faculty mentors that provided research instruction while in Germany. The students were also assisted by a variety of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, technical staff, and faculty at KIT.

Recruiting, Applications, and Interviews

From fall 2015 through fall 2017, a call for IRES student applications was made in the fall semester prior to the summer research. The program was announced in various STEM courses and by an email announcement to the science division faculty and staff seeking nominations of excellent students to apply. A competitive application package had to be submitted by the applicants for selection. The application included general information about the students’ overall and STEM GPA, declared major, completed STEM courses, contact information on professional references, and declaration of career interests (i.e., industry, postbaccalaureate program, graduate school, etc.). The application package also included essay questions that required articulation of their motivation and qualifications to participate in the program as it relates to academic and career goals, time management skills, and prior research experiences. Each semester, 8–10 students applied from which 4–6 students were selected for an interview. Student applicants varied in academic standing from freshman to senior with zero to four semesters of curricular research experience. Selection criteria for the IRES scholars were multifaceted, including academic performance and research experience. In all cases, scholars were selected who were passionate about research with a desire to pursue research as a career regardless of extracurricular experience.

In fall 2015 and 2016, the students chosen for an interview answered detailed questions about their qualifications for the program (i.e., provided more detail about research experience, coursework, etc.) and prepared an informal verbal response to articulate knowledge of and interest in the current projects of the KIT mentors. After two years with conversational interviews, as previously described, it was determined that student preparation for interviews and the assessment of previous experience and “soft skills”, such as communication of scientific topics, would be better served by allowing the students to assemble a presentation. Therefore, in fall 2017, a more rigorous interview process was implemented to select the best candidates. The interviewees prepared a 15 min presentation summarizing their research experiences and how the knowledge and skills would contribute to current KIT projects. The applicants also prepared a 15 min presentation summarizing a current research project by one of the KIT mentors and why that project was interesting to the interviewee. In the year in which the more rigorous interview process was implemented, all students had at least one semester of prior research experience to discuss.

After the interviews, three students were selected and one as an alternate in case one of the accepted candidates declined or was removed from the program. Twice, students declined the offer because they wanted to pursue other professional opportunities, and one student was removed from the program because of a lack of commitment during the predeparture preparation phase. Alternate students were then appointed for these positions, and a total of nine students traveled to Germany over the course of the three year program. The selected scholars demonstrated through application, interview, and recommendation material that they were dependable, collaborative, and independent thinkers, who were eager to learn and had great potential for entering a STEM career.

Student Preparation and Training

Every year of the IRES program, the first preparatory meeting included a video conference via a teleconference system with the KIT and DU mentors and the participating scholars. In spring 2016, the students were prepared for their study in Germany by informal noncredit earning instruction provided by the DU mentor at DU prior to departure. After review of the first year report from the external evaluator as well as discussions with the mentors and scholars, it was decided that this preparation should be more formal to increase the potential productivity and confidence of the traveling scholars. Therefore, the predeparture preparation of IRES students in spring of 2017 and 2018 evolved to include a one credit course called “Germany Research Preparation”, that was cotaught by the DU mentor, and by the postdoctoral mentor via instructor generated slideshows and activities. In this 18 week course, students received extensive research training, including laboratory safety and etiquette, reading and interpreting primary journal articles, and technical background instruction tailored to the research of the KIT mentors. This technical instruction included introduction to polymers, micro- and nanolithography, and click chemistry, primarily using discussion of journal articles recently published by the KIT mentors. Students gave and received feedback in the form of slideshow presentations of these research papers to demonstrate their understanding of the content of the journal articles and research therein, as well as to develop oral presentation skills. Furthermore, they were instructed in the basics of the German culture and language at DU before their departure to Germany. The cultural study centered on the discussion of “Those Crazy Germans: A Lighthearted Guide to Germany” by Steven Summers, instructor generated slideshows, and planned weekend trips for the summer program to promote the study of Germany’s surrounding landmarks, history, cuisine, and transportation. Language study primarily relied on students practicing via free phone and computer applications with the goal of acquiring 35%–50% fluency, according to the applications’ internal language assessment mechanism, before the end of the course. Language acquisition was ultimately assessed by the instructors using a German competency exam. Most students achieved a score of 40% or above on the multiple choice exam for beginners in the German language. Finally, students and their parents also participated in an orientation for international student experiences at DU, where they learned about international health insurance, visas, passport requirements, emergency procedures, and other important information for studying abroad.

After their arrival in Germany, the scholars and postdoctoral mentor received an in-depth orientation to the country and the research setting at KIT from the DU mentors and the international collaborators. Throughout the summer, the scholars and KIT mentors attended research update meetings every week to present updates from the previous week and their research plan for the coming week. Scholars presented research updates in group meetings to the KIT and DU mentors using a teleconference system to include off-campus participants twice over the summer. At the conclusion of the summer, each of the scholars gave a 20 min oral presentation at KIT summarizing their project. Students were also expected to keep a physical professional laboratory notebook, as well as write a detailed project timeline, project goals, and standard operating procedures of their experiments according to their mentor’s guidelines. Electronic versions of these documents were stored on an online workspace system allowing the mentors to continuously monitor progress. Furthermore, daily task entries were written in a free of charge web-based project management application, summarizing the results of the current workday and objectives for the following one. The use of online resources allowed for remote collaboration and mentorship. Final research reports and posters were also prepared in the final weeks of their stay in Germany. The posters were then presented at conferences after the students returned to DU.

IRES Student Research Projects at KIT

Over the course of the eight week program abroad, IRES students were assigned a variety of projects which complemented current research in the KIT and DU laboratory groups. For example, one project was the miniaturization of chemical detection microarrays on neutral polymers by using dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) and polymer pen lithography (PPL).^7,8 DPN and PPL were also applied for antibody printing on antifouling surfaces and the immobilization of cucurbiturils, which are large macromolecules that serve as molecular hosts for multiplexed sensor arrays. DPN and PPL were used to covalently bond the “ink” from the tip on the surface by various click chemistry reactions, such as the Huisgen azide–alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition.⁹ These projects directly correlated with current DU research to miniaturize established colorimetric sensing technology.¹⁰ In an alternative project, students prepared UV-light induced patterned nanoporous polymer surfaces containing hydrophilic–hydrophobic regions¹¹ for multiwell, high throughput biofilm quantification after treatment with antibiotics. This project directly correlated with studies undertaken in DU’s Undergraduate Center for Biofilm Research (CURB), which investigated the formation of biofilms on slippery liquid-infused nanoporous polymers (SLIPS)¹² under a variety of fluidic conditions.^13,14 Another project followed the theme of patterning using photolithography to create photodegradable hydrogel patterns and hydrogel micro- and nanosized particles¹⁵ which complemented the biomedical technology development interests of DU mentors.

IRES students learned a variety of research techniques, including organic synthesis, organic reaction mechanisms, surface deposition methods, photolithography, surface characterization techniques, and growth/characterization of biofilms on SLIPS and multiwell arrays. They developed competency with instruments including a nanolithography platform, microplate reading spectrophotometer, biohazard safety hood, photolithography lamp and mask, and a variety of optical and fluorescence microscopes through the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMF), Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), and Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG).

IRES Students’ Activities after Return from KIT

After their return from KIT, IRES students continued to work on research projects at DU with four faculty members and three postdoctoral fellows from chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering departments. They dedicated at least 10 h per week toward their projects during the academic year, and some students continued working full-time during the subsequent summer between their junior and senior years. Students earned two credit hours per semester counting toward their degree requirements. Their acquired knowledge from KIT was instrumental in advancing the research productivity for DU faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows. Their projects were closely related and synergistic to their IRES summer projects. Three students continued work on antifouling surfaces to prevent biofilm attachment and the visualization and quantification of persister cells in biofilms. Four students worked on the deposition of sensors on nanoporous surfaces and the detection of various analytes, including quorum sensing molecules, using chemometric analysis. Two students worked on research projects at Doane that were not directly related to their IRES projects, but they coauthored manuscripts with their KIT mentors during that time.¹⁶

All nine IRES students were expected to serve as mentors for less experienced researchers and voluntarily helped prepare the group of IRES scholars for the following summer. They met individually with new IRES scholars and gave advice about travel, the local and research environments, housing, research preparation, their KIT mentors, group members, expectations of productivity, etc. Furthermore, IRES students participated in group meetings and journal clubs at DU providing critical assistance and productive feedback to faculty and students.

IRES Program Assessment

The Bureau of Sociological Research (BOSR) at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln served as the external evaluators of the project. BOSR was not connected to DU or KIT faculties and functioned as an independent organization. The evaluators monitored timely completion of project objectives/activities and determined the impact and effectiveness of the project. Evaluations included process measures to examine the scholar’s relations with the KIT mentors and students, life in Germany, use of the language, understanding of German culture, and progress toward career choices. Furthermore, a variety of data sources were used to assess the impact of the IRES project on the undergraduate students’ readiness to prepare for performing research in another country. Finally, the quality of the mentoring experience for all involved parties including the undergraduate students, the postdoc, and the KIT collaborators, as well as any advances made by the undergraduate students’ academic, research, and cultural aptitude and skills, was evaluated. Annual formative evaluation reports presented to the mentors were used to support ongoing improvements to the IRES research at KIT and DU and student preparation. For instance, as a result of this evaluation, a rigorous predeparture training program was implemented that allowed flexibility for students with different needs and level of preparation. This adjustment to predeparture training resulted in the improved research competence of students. The evaluators also completed a summative report of the program using qualitative and quantitative data from surveys, interviews, institutional data on student outcomes, and other sources to determine whether the program met its goals. Table 1 summarizes the measures and corresponding data sources for the outcome evaluation.

Table 1.

Measures and Corresponding Data Sources for the IRES Project Outcome Evaluation

Measures	Data Sources	Data Collection Methods
Undergraduate students’ preparedness	Undergraduate students	Online pretest survey
Adequacy of mentorship	Undergraduate students	Online post-test survey
Adequacy of mentorship	Postdoc	Online post-test survey
Adequacy of mentorship	KIT collaborators	Online post-test survey
Undergraduate students’ academic and skill-set growth	Undergraduate students	Online post-test survey
Undergraduate students’ cultural and personal growth	Undergraduate students	Online post-test survey
Undergraduate students’ long-term career and academic goals	Office of Institutional Research	Submitted to program evaluators
Undergraduate students’ long-term career and academic goals	Undergraduate students	Telephone follow-up interview

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Survey Results

BOSR’s final evaluation report included a quantitative summary of all pre- and postsurveys of all students (n = 9 and n = 8, respectively) and mentors (n = 8) and a qualitative summary of personal interviews of all students who participated in the three year IRES project (Supporting Information). The survey results are very comprehensive. In this article, the authors summarize the findings that they considered to be the most significant outcomes based on their experience with the IRES students for the three year time period.

Participant Demographics and Information

In fall 2018, DU’s student population was predominantly Caucasian (81%). The participants in the IRES program were diverse, including 44% self-identified females and 44% self-identified Hispanic or Latino/a. The IRES program provided more than half of the participants with their first opportunity to travel abroad (SI Figure 3). Students from various STEM and social science majors participated, including chemistry, biology, chemistry–math, or chemistry–psychology majors. The average GPA of the selected students was 3.46, showing the high level of academic performance of the students selected. One main goal the PI had for the program was to increase the success of graduate school acceptances after graduation. Therefore, approximately half of the students were selected who declared career plans to go to graduate school. The other half declared plans for professional school or were undecided at the point of application.

Student Perspective Pretravel

In the survey report for year 1, students were asked questions to gauge their level of confidence prior to their trip to Germany. Most felt that they were somewhat prepared to begin their research and collaborate with their KIT mentor. However, not all students felt very prepared to begin living in Germany. Students also felt not very or not at all prepared to speak German and only somewhat or not very prepared to understand the German culture. Students’ lack of confidence in an international environment affected their overall satisfaction with the program.

Thus, the mentors created a one credit hour course which included not only research preparation, but also an introduction to culture and travel that would be helpful as the students prepared for their abroad trip. By reviewing a travel guide with the mentors, students learned more about the culture and traveling in Germany. DU mentors also included presentations on Germany and literature reviews for research preparation. The language skills were monitored on an informal basis in casual conversations during the preparation course. This lack of formality may have contributed to the scholars not having the confidence to speak German before and after travel, and a more formal German course would be advisible for future programs. Additionally, the course provided the opportunity for the students to interact with their DU and postdoctoral mentors to establish personal and professional relationships which appeared to be beneficial during the IRES travel period in terms of communication and mentoring needs.

After the preparatory course was created, allowing more formal training by the DU mentors about research and living in Germany, the students seemed to feel more prepared for their experience. On the basis of the survey results, students in years 2 and 3 felt at least somewhat prepared to live in Germany during the program, an increase from year 1 where all students felt not very prepared (Table 2, SI Figure 1). Student confidence in understanding the German culture remained relatively the same throughout the program (Table 2). Student ability in the German language also stayed relatively the same throughout, with most students leaving for the program feeling not very prepared in this area. When asked to rate their level of confidence on these topics, a decrease was observed in comparing pretest and post-test ratings for speaking and understanding the German language (SI Table 3). The decrease of student confidence relating to German language skills while in Germany may be related to the language preparation using free phone and computer applications. This language learning software may not have accurately predicted the students’ German language speaking and comprehension ability after they achieved a fluency level of 30–60% according to the application standard. However, student comfort levels in meeting a person who does not speak English and being in an environment of different nationalities, races, religions, and beliefs did increase during their trip, conveying a comfort achieved in international settings. English was the common language of the students, mentors, and their research teams at KIT, which fostered student confidence in their ability to perform their research tasks and acquire new skills. The language barrier was only perceived outside of the research environment requiring the students to rely on resources, such as Google Translate and translation booklets, to communicate.

Table 2.

Comparison of Students’ Perceived Preparedness for Study in Germany by Program Year

	Students’ Self-Reported Preparedness, by IRES Program Year (N = 3 for Each Year)
	Living in Germany			Speaking German			Understanding German Culture
Perception Rating Scale	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Not at all prepared				2
Not very prepared	3			1	2	3	1	1
Somewhat prepared		2	3		1		2	1	3
Very prepared		1						1

Overall, students reported that the preparation before departure was of good/excellent quality with the information presented being somewhat or very relevant (SI Figure 2). Most felt they were at least somewhat knowledgeable about the research project goals (88.9%) and understood the expectations of the IRES research (77.7%) (SI Figure 4). The majority of students reported being very adaptable to new social environments (66.7%) (SI Figure 5). Students were asked if their knowledge and confidence for their trip increased or decreased. Over half of the students reported an increase in confidence and improved positive relationships with the KIT and postdoctoral mentors (SI Figure 7). However, some students reported that there was no change in the relationship with the mentor. This may be due to the fact that the mentors previously worked with some students in classroom or research settings resulting in a positive student–mentor relationship prior to the program. Furthermore, almost all felt their knowledge of their summer goals and what was expected of them increased (88.9%). Overall, the overview orientation seemed to benefit students in preparing for the research projects they had in the coming 8 weeks.

Student Perspective of Program Achievement

In order to determine whether the students’ opinions changed from the beginning of the program to the end, some of the same questions were asked in both the pretest and post-test. Students were very or somewhat confident in their abilities as a scholar in both the pretest and the post-test. However, there was a decrease in the number of students that felt very confident in the pretest (66.7%) compared to the post-test (50.0%; SI Figure 8). It should be noted though that pre/post-test evaluations often lead to a response shift bias where participants feel more confident prior to the experience resulting afterwards in an increased appreciation of their initial confidence and therefore lower post-test scores.¹⁷ Students were also asked to rate their abilities in different areas (SI Tables 1 and 2). These included skills, such as supporting conclusions with relevant evidence, gathering and evaluating facts and assumptions, practicing effective communication as a scientific communicator and presenter, etc. Overall, student confidence in their ability increased in over half of the measured criteria. Interestingly, the largest decrease in student confidence was in the use of digital media to collaborate and learn, demonstrating the difficulties of using online resources such as cloud storage systems, online project boards, calendars, and lab notebooks.

The BOSR report also summarized students’ career aspirations (SI Figures 9-12), including intentions to attend graduate school and whether they would obtain additional degrees after completion of their Baccalaureate. Before departure, some students expressed an interest in teaching science as their career goal. After the program, the majority of students said that their confidence in their potential to be a teacher in science stayed the same (62.5%) (Figure 1). On the basis of the international research training and networking experiences, IRES students reported improved communication skills. These changes in communication skills have also been reported by graduate students who conducted international research.⁴ Therefore, communication through shared goals, mentor and student discussions, joint publications, and mutual learning seemed to be common themes for student success. Furthermore, all of the students reported a small or great increase in their readiness for more demanding research, skill in the interpretation of research results, and ability to analyze data and other information (Figure 1), indicating overall gains in their ability to return to DU and work on independent research projects. Overall, the students felt that the IRES program provided an experience which helped improve their general research and communications skills that would be useful regardless of their future career aspirations.

Figure 1.

Post-test of the degree of benefit gained from the research experience (n = 8).

Student–Mentor Relationships

The role the postdoctoral fellow as a mentor evolved over the course of the program. In the first year, the postdoctoral mentor was not part of the program. After the first summer, it was determined that a postdoctoral mentor would provide valuable and frequent feedback to the students to boost confidence and feelings of preparation to live and do research in Germany. It was evident from conversations with the second year students that the involvement of a postdoctoral mentor in the preparation course and the summer aided in improving the student’s overall confidence to live and work in Germany. In the third year of the program, the postdoctoral mentor continued to provide similar support to the students although this was done remotely from DU rather than by traveling with the students to KIT. Not only was this change in the postdoctoral mentor role throughout the program seen by the students, but also the mentors at KIT felt an improvement in student research productivity and preparation.

The mentorship from the main investigator and the postdoctoral fellow included the increased use of online tools, such as video calling, multiuser document editing, online schedulers, and online project management tools. This allowed for remote active engagement of all researchers. This online collaborative environment required additional organization and timely communication of meetings and documentation, which led to more work for students and mentors, but also introduced more flexibility for everybody’s work schedule since all research documentation was available and accessible online. The mentors considered the collaborative online learning environment an important skill for students to acquire, but some students struggled with this concept and were overall less satisfied with the experience.

Evaluation of student relationships with their DU and KIT mentors was overall rated highly, as was the frequency of meetings with their mentors (SI Figures 13-18). The KIT mentors also reported on the frequencies of meetings with the students and their relationships with them (SI, Figures 19 and 20). This frequency was determined by the KIT mentors but included a minimum of one group meeting and one one-on-one meeting per week with the students during the summer research. The mentors said that, during their meetings with students, they were answering questions, explaining and planning projects, checking and correcting reports, giving feedback, discussing results, keeping track of project progress, giving advice on research and nonresearch questions, and giving advice on interpersonal and professional conduct. This type of feedback was useful for students to receive continuous guidance and to address any research related or personal issues. Overall, the mentors also said that the students increased research skills over the course of the IRES experience. In the presurvey, students considered the relationships with their KIT and postdoctoral mentors as beneficial and positive (SI Figure 6). Only one student in the three years was not at all confident that he or she had a beneficial and positive relationship with their KIT mentor. This could be due to the fact that there was only one online meeting with KIT mentors prior to travel and the student might not have felt that to be a very personal experience to get to know their mentor.

Mentor Perspective of Program Achievement

The mentors (87.5%) thought that the students were prepared to live in Germany, but only half (50.0%) felt that they were very prepared to begin research at the beginning of the summer research (SI Figure 22). However, mentors said that preparation and many research skills increased over the summer, including preparation for working in the lab and meetings, and the ability to analyze data, work independently, manage research, and work in a team and with a research mentor (Figure 2, SI Figures 21 and 23). Most notable was the increased ability to meet unexpected research challenges exhibiting student growth in problem solving skills. Mentors also reported that communication was extremely important and thought that the program was very well-organized (100.0%). The importance of communication, as well as immediately addressing any issues such as misunderstandings, between all mentors and students continued to be a critical component throughout the summer experience and contributed to everyone’s satisfaction with the program. Half of the mentors felt that their mentoring ability increased, especially when relating research projects to students who are less experienced (SI Figure 24). This reveals that the IRES program was not only beneficial for the students but also for the IRES mentors who are mostly used to communicating with Ph.D. or Masters students and colleagues. Overall, the mentors felt that the collaboration was a positive experience for themselves, their research teams, and the students.

Figure 2.

Mentor post-test evaluations of the students’ research skills changed (n = 8).

In the third year of the program, the interview format was changed from conversational to presentation style because the mentors wanted to gain a better understanding of whether the students were serious about their intention to conduct research and not misconstrue the program as a vacation in Germany. In the presentations, students outlined their qualifications and interests in the KIT research. This adjustment were also beneficial in helping the students prepare and organize their thoughts for the interview and allowed the mentors to assess if the applicants were mature enough and prepared to enter a rigorous training program in Germany.

IRES Program Key Outcomes and Other Achievements

The program provided extensive training for students and postdoctoral researchers in chemical and physical surface modification technologies. Significant advancements were achieved in nanotechnology, surface chemistry, biomedical research, biofilm technology, and sensing applications. The increase in international joint efforts exposed faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and undergraduate students to international teamwork and afforded all project participants with numerous networking opportunities, not only through the research laboratories at KIT but also by attendance at local and national conferences, including a nanotechnology conference in Germany. The projects were of high caliber, and students were able to come back to the US fully prepared to work independently with other DU students and faculty researchers.

On the basis of the principal investigator’s publication record since 2007, it was concluded that the IRES project has contributed to her increased research productivity at DU. Figure 3 demonstrates that the PI of the grant experienced a surge of publications and presentations after the program’s implementation in 2016. The PI averaged between 0 and 5 publications per year prior to 2016, which is a typical publication rate for the PI at DU, an institution with a high teaching load for faculty. In 2017 and 2018, the PI was able to publish 17 peer-reviewed articles, and 13 of these articles were coauthored by IRES participants. Furthermore, the PI and the IRES participants submitted abstracts and presented more than 45 poster and oral presentations from 2016 to 2018 reporting their research results from KIT and DU.

Figure 3.

Increase of scholarship as demonstrated by the number of publications and presentations for the PI and IRES students. Presentations for IRES students started in 2016. IRES publications started in 2017.

At DU, other students have inquired about the program at all class levels because it provides an international experience that teaches students about collaborative research, culture, language, European travel, etc. Furthermore, several faculty members at DU have expressed the positive effects of the IRES program on student development. One faculty also applied for NSF-IRES funding by incorporating the learned lessons of this IRES project, such as the need to improve language preparation. This proposal expanded on the established relationship with KIT and included a third research site at the University of Bayreuth in Germany. The international research experience at KIT also strengthened applications to the Fulbright Fellowship program, Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU), and graduate fellowship programs. Two students applied for Fulbright Programs in the United Kingdom and Germany, which were unfortunately not awarded. However, one of these students still pursued a graduate degree in applied mathematics at a foreign institution. Two students applied and were accepted to graduate school, and they are currently enrolled in graduate programs in neuroscience and physical–computational chemistry. One student is currently applying to graduate schools pursuing an emphasis in biomedical nanotechnology and functional surfaces. One student was accepted to a physician assistant program, and two students are pursuing health related careers. Two students intend to apply for graduate school but are still undecided in their career path. At DU, a majority of STEM majors intend to attain a professional degree in programs to become healthcare professionals, such as medical physicians. This is due to the fact that DU students, born and raised in rural farming communities, have not had much exposure to alternative careers other than healthcare. Therefore, the IRES program has had a significant impact on students wanting to pursue STEM graduate degrees, which has also been exemplified in other funded scholar programs.¹⁸

The IRES project also provided professional development for IRES students including peer-to-peer study groups, academic advisement, and faculty mentoring to increase student success. Students also applied for several local and national awards. Two scholars received travel awards to present research at national conferences at which they won poster presentation awards. Three students were nominated for a university research award. One student received a local award for scholarly excellence for which research accomplishment was a primary criteria.

Dissemination of IRES Program Outcomes to the Scientific Community and General Public

Upon their return, each IRES scholar presented at minimum 5–6 posters or oral presentations at local and national conferences. To put this in perspective, nonfederally funded undergraduate research students typically only present once at DU’s MindExpo, where students showcase their research accomplishments during their junior or senior year.

IRES students presented their results from KIT and DU at conferences, including annual conferences through the Society for Advancing Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, Louis Stokes Midwest Center of Excellence, Women in Physical Sciences, Iowa Illinois Nebraska Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, the national American Chemical Society Meeting, and the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. All IRES students also coauthored several journal articles with their DU and KIT mentors.^{10,13,14,16,19-23} An article that reaches a wider general audience was published in Scientia titled “Big Student Experiences in Nanotechnology”.²⁴ KIT also broadened the knowledge of the IRES program to a wider audience in ClicKIT, a student magazine, where the IRES students were interviewed about their experience with the program.²⁵

CONCLUSIONS

The IRES program provided a unique experience at an undergraduate small liberal arts institution and allowed underserved students from rural Nebraska to gain competencies that they might not have had the opportunity to achieve otherwise. Through constant evaluation of the program, three major changes were made to improve the students’ experience. In year 2, a more formal preparation course was implemented with college credit earned by the students. It included an extensive German culture study along with research skill enhancement. The role of the postdoctoral mentor also changed, first in traveling with the students for close guidance in year 2 and monitoring the students remotely in year 3. Finally, in year 3, the student interview process included a 30 min presentation by the applicants demonstrating not only their previous research experience and interest in the KIT projects but also their communication skills. Student competence of the German language was a major challenge in the overall confidence of the students’ ability to live and research in the international environment. Sufficient language preparation for student confidence is recommended but not crucial for success in an international research experience because English is the spoken language in most academic research settings in Germany. Important aspects included weekly meetings with the students to provide frequent opportunities for mentor–student communication, one-on-one meetings with a postdoctoral and faculty mentor from DU to improve research and communication skills, and a one semester preparatory course that covered research and cultural topics.