Institutional Coordination

From CISEREUPI

REU programs do not exist in a vacuum. In addition to the university departments with which the program must interact (e.g. Housing, Payroll, Facilities -- see more at Project Management and Logistics), there are often other institutions, either as a part of the same university or external to the university, with similar or complementary aims.

Internal Institutions

• Examples
  • Other REU sites at the same university
  • Undergraduate research programs
  • Graduate programs
  • RET programs
  • Infrastructure programs
    • CI-TEAM
    • Supercomputing centers
• Benefits of cooperation
  • Larger pool of students with similar interests
    • Easier / more efficient to bring in external speakers
    • Social programs
    • House students together
    • Shared end-of-summer poster presentation
    • Increased institutional memory
  • Shared administrative effort / cost
    • Shared advertisements
    • Shared assessment exercises
• Difficulties of cooperation
  • Different start / stop dates
    • Annual cycle
    • Renewal cycle
  • Splitting costs / responsibilities
  • Personality conflicts

External Institutions

• Examples
  • Federal laboratories / agencies
    • NASA
    • NSA
    • NOAA
  • Companies that rely heavily on computing
    • Google
    • Pixar
    • Dreamworks
    • Raytheon
    • Boeing
  • Local K-12 schools
  • Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts
  • Minority groups
    • National Society of Black Physicists
    • National Society of Black Engineers
• Benefits of cooperation
  • Visiting speakers
  • Field trips
  • Access to resources
  • Career possibilities for students
  • Outreach / "broader impact"
• Difficulties of cooperation
  • Differing goals
  • Differing expectations