The Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research (ACUR) aims to promote and advance undergraduate research in higher education institutions in Australasia to enable students to develop their research skills, enhance their work readiness and benefit from sharing their work through networking and publishing.
Undergraduate research training is important for overall career readiness, and increases interest in advancement to graduate research to develop our leaders and thinkers of tomorrow.
Professor Jennifer Cornish, Academic Director, Graduate Research Academy
Undergraduate research is defined as research or investigation conducted by tertiary level undergraduate students attending universities and colleges (see also this alternative extended definition).
Discover the advantages of institutional ACUR membership
For you as a staff member
- find support and networking opportunities to foster student learning and assessment through research-based learning
- engage with the research of students from other institutions and countries
- access resources about undergraduate research and research-based learning, including resources to enhance development of students’ employability skills such as critical thinking and problem solving which can be utilised in course design and development
For our undergraduate research students
- showcase, communicate and publicise their own research
- engage and network with other undergraduate researchers
- explore interdisciplinary research approaches, challenges and ideas
For the university
- raise the profile of Macquarie’s undergraduate research achievements
- facilitate the extension and/or development of undergraduate research across the university
- facilitate opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in presenting their research at conferences
ACUR membership offers the opportunity for staff and students to join our community of people working in an inclusive way to promote and advance undergraduate research. To date, over eleven hundred undergraduates from across Australasia have presented their research at ACUR conferences. We look forward to welcoming Macquarie University to the next one!
Emeritus Professor Angela Brew, Chair ACUR
Check out these resources
We’ve selected a few resources from the ACUR resources site as a taster for what you’ll find there:
| Designing conference posters | Often, the first time an undergraduate research student has to present their work will be in the form of a poster presentation. This website resource guides students through the purpose of posters, how to produce them, layout, what to include and what not to include, avoiding common mistakes and how to present the poster at a conference. |
| Human research ethics training | A self-paced module for students in the social sciences and humanities (developed by Macquarie University). |
| Research-based learning decision making wheel | This wheel infographic is designed to represent the decisions that need to be taken by academics when thinking about implementing research and inquiry experiences for students. It is designed so that people can begin in the centre, decide on which students they want to engage in this manner and then work outwards. |
| A guide for mentors | Having a good mentor early in your career can mean the difference between success and failure. This PDF guide outlines what makes a good mentor. |
| 10 easy ways to put research and inquiry into course | Ten suggestions for ways you can adapt your unit to develop students’ research skills and competencies (PDF). |
| Artificial intelligence tools to assist researchers | This document highlights a range of different applications for using AI tools to support researchers. |
Find more resources
You can find additional resources created by teachers to help undergraduate students get started in research and for developing research supported curriculum on the ACUR Resources site.
Encourage students to profile their research at the annual ACUR conference
An announcement with details of the 2023 ACUR conference is coming soon. This will be a chance for our undergraduate research students to represent Macquarie University and showcase their research, network with other research scholars and explore research challenges and ideas. Stay tuned for more information on TECHE.
Questions?
Contact Jen Cornish, Academic Director, Graduate Research Academy – jennifer.cornish@mq.edu.au
Acknowledgments:
Banner image: Photo by MIA Studio on Shutterstock
Post compiled and edited by Kylie Coaldrake
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