Maintaining Successful Scientific Communication Workshops for Undergraduate Researchers

Scientific communication is an integral part of research generally disseminated through presentations (oral or poster) and peer-reviewed manuscripts. Often times, students give their first oral presentation or prepare their first manuscript as graduate students. The process typically involves several rounds critiques and edits from the faculty advisor, which can be time consuming, frustrating and nerve-racking for students. Early exposure to these forms of communication can aid in mitigating these effects. As such, the CEMITURE (NSF-REU) program at Georgia Southern University has implemented intensive SciWrite and SciPresent professional development workshops for its undergraduate researchers. Although we face varying concerns and issues each year, these workshops have been successful with students submitting abstracts to conferences, giving oral and poster presentations, and completing scientific manuscripts in the form of progress reports. Currently in our fourth year, we aim to share our experiences in maintaining the success of these scientific communication workshops