WISCURDS Information for Project Proposers
Becoming a WISCURDS project site offers many benefits:
Fast Access to Research Assistance.
Gain access to research assistance that is capable of solving open-ended research problems with manageable startup or maintenance support.
Support for Expanding Method Sets.
WISCURDS supports faculty, industry, and community project proposers in expanding method sets within their research by forming teams of student researchers from majors across campus.
Reduce Administrative Burden.
The program is designed to allow proposers to be “hands off.” The amount of support beyond providing a clear problem description, and access to necessary data can be up to the project proposer. This approach removes a barrier to engaging undergraduates in research due to the administrative and supervisory burdens involved in finding and mentoring students ready for high-quality work.
Mentorship and Support for Students.
Students receive support from WISCURDS program staff. Some students, depending on their skill assessment, may also be required to participate in an on-boarding training. This means project proposers need not be responsible for foundational training in data science or problem-solving methodology.
Leveraging Data Science Expertise.
Students can tackle the hard work of solving your problem or answering your analytical question.
How to Get Involved
The process of a project proposer is designed to be straightforward:
Project Proposal.
Click the “Propose a WISCURDS Project” link below and complete the interest form to propose a project. All questions are optional, and if you are unsure how to answer a question, you can respond “not sure.” Once you’ve submitted this form, we will meet with you to explore the possibilities and learn if WISCURDS is a good match for your project. If it is, we’ll select a team of student researchers to work with you.
Problem Description.
Project proposers describe the research problem to their team of student researchers. Usually, this involves writing a project description that can be a page or two long. WISCURDS personnel can assist in writing this project description. Project proposers may also need to be available for an interview conducted by their student team and/or answer their questions via email.
Student-Driven Solution with Program Support.
In the group track, student researchers rely on each other and the support provided by WISCURDS to solve the problem. In the individual track, the faculty mentor will provide individual students with project support and guidance. After the conclusion of the project, students share reports, code, data, summaries, explanations and other outputs with with project proposers and faculty mentors.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Adam Ross Nelson at wiscurds@datascience.wisc.edu.