We are excited to announce the launch of Undergraduate Research Opportunities & Competencies (UROC), an open educational resource designed by The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) to equip undergraduate students with skills and tools to find and successfully engage in research opportunities at The University of Maryland (UMD).
As a part of UMD's strategic commitment to reimagine learning, the Teaching & Learning Transformation Center (TLTC) called for proposals to drive the development of innovative educational technologies and tools. Aligned with OUR’s mission to foster equitable and inclusive access to undergraduate research opportunities, Dr. Carinna Ferguson, an Assistant Program Director with OUR, was awarded a T-02 Teaching Innovation Grant in December 2023 to develop UROC - an open educational resource designed to help students develop skills and competencies to take on undergraduate research opportunities.
UROC is now available to the entire UMD community. Undergraduate students can easily enroll in UROC via Open Learning and earn a certificate of completion after finishing four modules:
Intro to Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Research Toolkit
AI & Information Literacy in Research
Taking Action
Faculty, staff, and other course instructors are encouraged to use, modify, or integrate UROC content into their courses or programs. To ensure broad accessibility, UROC is also available as a view-only ELMS-Canvas page for individuals outside UMD.
OUR extends its gratitude to the following University of Maryland campus partners for their support in the development of UROC:
If you would like more information on how UROC can enhance student learning and engagement in undergraduate research, you can learn more about UROC, or contact the OUR team.