top of page
Search

Finding Undergraduate Researchers and Sustaining Engagement with ForagerOne & Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP)

  • Writer: Carinna Ferguson
    Carinna Ferguson
  • 3 days ago
  • 3 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago



The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) is working to empower UMD undergraduate students of all levels of experience and campus partners to engage and succeed in shared inquiry, creative activity, and scholarship. To drive the creation of student opportunities and outcomes, support an undergraduate research-centered campus culture and community, and reimagine learning, we aim to empower campus partners in their search for motivated, committed, and capable undergraduate researchers.


We are excited to share our campus-wide launch of two new options - ForagerOne and Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP).  Both of these resources are being offered to help faculty members and campus partners with their search for the right undergraduate students and sustain these engagements over time.


ree

Utilize ForagerOne to Find Undergraduate Researchers


ForagerOne provides an infrastructure that connects undergraduate students and campus partners based on shared creative, research, and scholarly interests.


The ForagerOne system enables campus partners to create, modify, and retire research opportunities without additional intervention or oversight from our office.  You can easily log in with UMD Single Sign-On (SSO authentication), create your profile, and post projects within minutes.  This will then enable you to communicate with and evaluate student candidates in one dedicated ecosystem.


UMD faculty have shared the following observations about this resource:

  • “The platform works and has increased student interest in my research.”

  • “I highly recommend faculty members to take advantage of this fantastic resource!”

  • “ForagerOne offers an effective method of connecting with engaged students to incorporate them into the important research projects being done on campus.”

  • “Easy to access and navigate.”

  • “The portal is a much-improved method for sharing UG research opportunities than the previous system. The interface is user-friendly. Faculty can update their information and list specific projects themselves, without having to wait for a department website manager to approve changes to a website.”

  • “The user experience with ForagerOne is light-years ahead of the previous platform.”


Claim your ForagerOne account today.  Complete step-by-step instructions for campus partners are available at the link provided.

ree

Launch a Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Team


Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) provides UMD students of all backgrounds, disciplines, and levels of experience with the opportunity to engage in scaffolded, multidisciplinary team-based projects.


Launched by The A. James Clark School of Engineering in 2024, VIP is being expanded campus-wide through a partnership between OUR and Maryland Engineering.  Our goal is to grow this initiative to serve hundreds of undergraduate students and dozens of campus partners through the operation of VIP Teams from every school and college.


We seek to grow this initiative for a range of student and faculty-centered reasons:

  • Applications for OUR undergraduate research programs have experienced a surge in demand from students from all backgrounds and disciplines. We have waitlists of hundreds of students for our term-based and summer programs. These students are motivated and looking for you.

  • Undergraduate students are seeking the opportunity to engage in research both in and outside their majors in order to build broad professional skillsets. Additionally, they often seek to advance the completion of their degrees through course credit for their efforts and commitment.

  • Faculty seek to build multifaceted undergraduate student teams who can address research opportunities requiring a broad range of student interests, skillsets, and motivations.

  • Faculty seek to build teams where senior members take on leadership roles, helping new members onboard and succeed (and reducing faculty load).


Our goal is to help faculty members and campus partners succeed in the assembly of a committed and effective sustainable VIP Team and provide the resources needed to sustain this effort over a longer period of time.


We encourage those interested to launch a VIP Team and serve as a VIP Faculty Mentor to:

  • Advance your research & innovation with long-term student support.

  • Lead a multidisciplinary, scalable team with sustained peer mentoring.

  • Launch, grow, and succeed through the support we provide for student recruitment, team selection, course creation and scheduling, and other related materials.

  • Be a part of a community of VIP Faculty Mentors who meet, discuss, and grow together.


​​Learn more about submitting a VIP Team Proposal. This is a time-sensitive process, with Phase I proposals due September 30, 2025.


Please connect with our office (our-office@umd.edu) with any questions about launching a VIP Team or connecting with students using ForagerOne.





bottom of page