Project Directory 21-22

Summary

In summer 2021, in the Department of Materials, we worked with 3 UG students to create a PowerApp based on Physics and Chemistry ‘content’ to help our incoming cohort plug in knowledge gaps they might have had due to the disruptions to their schooling. Currently, only topics related to Materials are covered with no embedded resources. There was a static resource pack that was also developed. This project seeks to improve student learning and experience by enhancing the work and extending the content to be suitable for multiple departments.

This is exciting opportunity for a UG and PGR student to play an active role as partners and aid in designing creative, interactive educational content for their peers.

As a student partner, you will be co-creators of the final product – we will rely on your student insight to ensure that the product matches the expectations of Imperial students, current and future. You will gain experience in educational content development, using different educational strategies for learning, storyboarding and animation and perhaps improve your programming skills.

Project lead

Paul Franklyn and Priya Saravanapavan

Further Details/Experience Required

6 UG Students, working a combination of full-time and part-time between January and August 2022.  4 PG students working part-time during the same time period. 

'Re:fresher recruitment ad'

Summary 

Computational modelling is a powerful tool that allows design engineers to iterate through their design in-silico, thus reducing the prototyping costs and opening the door to nearly unlimited design variations. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is specifically a versatile method that suits many applications. The FEM module is a core module in design engineering. The design of the module has been based on the Solidworks Simulation FE software, which has served very well so far. This software, although offering all modelling options required for the module delivery, is a reduced version of professional software and is not often used in the industry. We would like to improve our students’ FE modelling knowledge and skills and our Design Engineering programme’s profile by making a transition to professional industry-standard software, Ansys. The transition to Ansys however would require upgrading the lecture videos, tutorial sheets and the projects, and to test Ansys for the advanced topics delivered in the module. This transition requires strong student engagement to ensure the extra complexity of the new computational tool will not confuse students and to ensure that students acquire translational finite element knowledge and skills.

The student shapers will be selected based on their motivation and engagement during the module. There will be an initial learning phase when students will learn Ansys with the help of the module leader. Then the team will engage in the production of tutorial solutions, lecture problem solutions, mid-term and final project solutions and lecture materials. The students and module leader will collaborate on producing these materials. There is an opportunity to incorporate more practical examples, mainly produced through 3D printing. Another opportunity involves the use of VR, which will be explored time allowing.

Project lead

Mazdak Ghajari (m.ghajari@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Lecturer

Further Details/Experience Required

Students enrolled on the Design Engineering MEng programme with the knowledge of the finite element method (FEM) and expertise in using a commercial FEM package should apply.

2 students working full-time for 8 weeks over the Summer break. 

"Finite Element Modelling" recruitment ad

Summary

We believe there is a balance to be struck in Computing education between teaching fundamental concepts, and keeping up with the demands of industry. Our strong links with industry indicate that at the moment Java (which we have used for teaching object-oriented programming for many years) while still prevalent, is on the decline, while other newer programming languages are gaining traction. In order to be seen as keeping up with (and even leading) developments in programming languages, we would like to update our teaching material, and particularly lab exercises, to use a more modern programming language that will see us through the next (perhaps) 10 years.
   
 This would also be an opportunity to re-vamp and refine existing teaching material, based on our own experience of teaching programming over the years, plus updates to pedagogical best practice, and input from colleagues at other institutions.

From the student side, students will gain an appreciation of constructing a learning journey through various topics, improving and crystallising their understanding of programming concepts through developing exercises to teach them, and developing their communication skills in writing clear and unambiguous instructions and problem statements for students to follow.

Project lead

Robert Chatley (rbc@ic.ac.uk),  Director of Software Engineering Education

Further Details/Experience Required

Two undergraduate students, ideally at the end of their first or second year of study, with strong programming skills. 

For five weeks full-time during Summer break.

'New programming labs for new programming languages' recruitment ad

Summary

The Department of Chemical Engineering hosts some of the best performing students from various parts of the world. Yet, due to differences Mathematics curriculum around the globe, the expertise level varies significantly among the students. This can make 1st year Mathematics course seem a bit more challenging. Pre-sessional content has been developed for bridging the differences before joining the College. Despite this, student and GTA feedback has highlighted challenges faced by students in 1st year. Importantly, student engagement with Mathematics during drop-in sessions remains very low.

We are interested to work with a motivated student who has found the Mathematics course particularly challenging and to discuss how best to support their journey. The work aims to create a fostering learning environment by promoting peer-interactions and enhance student learning experience using evidence-based pedagogical approaches such as peer- and team-based learning. The project will take a staff-student partnership approach to brainstorm and implement ideas ranging from peer learning to student societies for Mathematics. We hope to redesign the way we deliver drop-in sessions.

As a student partner, you will engage closely with the staff partner to identify different strategies based on literature and your/peer experiences. You will take lead on designing surveys and gathering feedback from your peers and potentially also test this during the summer. Student partners’ views and ideas will form integral components for this implementation. This partnership will offer a unique opportunity to bring upon tangible change to increase student engagement and improve student experiences for future cohorts.

Project lead

Vijesh Bhute (v.bhute@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow

Further Details/Experience Required

1 Undergraduate Chemical Engineering student, for eight weeks full-time during Summer break.

'Mastering mathematics with teamwork and technology' recruitment ad

Summary

Mechanical Engineering undergraduates spend a lot of time doing maths in their first year. We would like two student partners to work with us over the summer to help make the first year maths module more inclusive. Our students have first-hand experience of learning on the module, so they are aware of the impact of where equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) has not been adequately considered. Students who have studied overseas will offer different perspectives and valuable insight of learning the curriculum. Additionally, students from diverse and minoritised backgrounds will also offer value and unique perspectives of the curriculum.

Together the staff and student partners will identify and implement appropriate changes to the notes, problem sheets and other learning and teaching activities. This could include: rewriting parts of the notes and problem sheets to increase accessibility, particularly for learners with specific learning difficulties; adding supportive video resources or other activities highlighting examples of diverse applications of key concepts; adding explicit links to other modules; decolonising the module; adding group learning activities to get students talking to each other about maths as well as working individually.

The student partners will gain an understanding of EDI issues in learning and teaching, they will learn latex typesetting for writing beautiful mathematics, and they will have a meaningful impact on the learning experience of future cohorts.

The project will provide a model for improving accessibility of other modules in our degree course. It will support embedding EDI in our curriculum and significantly contribute to fostering an inclusive and diverse community of learners.

Project Lead

Linda Stringer (l.stringer@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow

Further details/experience required

2 Mechanical Engineering students in 2nd or 3rd year. 

8 weeks across Summer break (distributed flexibly to accommodate holiday plans or working 4 day weeks)

'Making first year maths more inclusive' recruitment ad

Summary

As we relax social distancing requirements and transition from remote teaching, the Department of Chemical Engineering would like to enhance the return to campus by providing our students increased opportunities for collaboration and cohort-building.  This may involve redesigning some of our common and learning spaces.

Throughout the project, you will work with key staff within the Department:

• to assess and quantify how our students use existing departmental spaces for collaboration and social interactions
• to gauge whether these spaces are adequate and identify the extent of any gaps
• to propose, rank and where possible help implement initiatives which can allow a larger proportion of our students increased opportunities to meet either face-to-face or virtually through the redesign and creation of functional and inclusive spaces

Project lead

Marsha Maraj (m.maraj@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Teaching Fellow, Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

1st, 2nd or 3rd year Chemical Engineering students.

5 weeks full-time during Summer break. 

'Common and learning spaces in ChemEng' recruitment ad

Summary

We need your help to develop a new module that has recently been accepted in the new I-STEMM programme. ‘Thinking Through Materials’ is rooted in the partnership between Imperial College London and the Victoria and Albert Museum. It invites students to broaden their knowledge outside their core disciplines by bringing together perspectives and approaches from the arts, humanities, and sciences. The module will include innovative hands-on activities, to equip students with the historical, theoretical and practical ‘tools’ that will empower them to better understand the intertwined histories of materials science and art/design, and interpret the development and reception of materials in the past and present.
You will receive weekly support from V&A and the Department of Materials staff. You will also have access to Department of Materials labs and will work in close collaboration with postgraduate students from the Department of Materials and the V&A.

We welcome students to work in three target areas:

1. Calibration of multidisciplinary learning resources: multidisciplinarity is built into every aspect of this module, from the teaching team to the research skills students will develop, so we want to be sure that readings, discussion topics and activities are pitched at the ‘right’ level. We want students to feel stimulated and excited by the content, not confused or overwhelmed! This will also enable the teaching team to establish an appropriate workload for the module, including pre-class preparation.
2. Practical activities: hands-on experimentation is at the heart of the module’s exploration of material-based knowledge. StudentShapers student partners will take charge of developing innovative ideas for these activities, ensuring that briefs are clearly explained, engaging and support collaboration across disciplines.
3. Assessment: this is a new module, which requires students to produce a series of marked and unmarked assessments. These take the form of imaginative formats that will be less familiar to students, including a collaborative mind-mapping exercise, materials infographic, and social media campaign. StudentShapers student partners will take a leading role in the development of these creative assessments, helping to shape them in the most optimal way, from both a student’s perspective and a teacher’s one.

Project lead

Eleonora D'Elia (eleonora.delia10@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Materials

Further Details/Experience Required

All current undergraduate Materials Science and Dyson School of Design Engineering students. Three bursaries are available for six weeks full-time during the Summer break. 

'Thinking through Materials' recruitment ad

Summary

We are looking for four students to collaborate with us to develop the newly accepted “Demystifying Machine Learning” I-Explore STEMM module.  Alongside studying prepared materials, the Demystifying Machine Learning module will consist of a practical group project where students from different disciplines work together to identify a problem in a chosen domain or discipline and attempt to solve the problem with Machine Learning. The assessments for the group project include presenting a project pitch to potential ‘investors’, explaining the project to a non-technical audience, and presenting your prototype to a technical audience.

You will focus on shaping and developing the group project, including contributing ideas on how to best run and assess the project. What better way is there to design the group project than to experience conducting the group project yourselves as ‘students’ enrolled on the module? You will bring your experiences from conducting the group project and from your perspective as a student to inform, shape and design the direction of the group project.

You will also collaborate with one or two PhD students from the Department of Computing who will act as ‘mentors’ to guide you through your group project.

You will be able to gain some knowledge about Machine Learning, subject to early versions of the module’s learning materials being ready by July. You may also be able to give feedback on early versions of the materials, and even shape and reconfigure the direction of how the materials are to be presented. 

Project lead

Josiah Wang, Senior Teaching Fellow, Computing

Further Details/Experience Required

Students in Year 2, preferably those with minimal knowledge of and experience with Machine Learning. Students from outside the Department of Computing are preferred. Participation in this project will exclude you from taking this module in the future to avoid any unfair educational advantage.

Six weeks full time during Summer break.  Four bursaries available. 

'Demystifying machine learning' recruitment ad

Summary

The objective of this project is to aid in the development of resources for the Academic Integrity in STEMM module, which is offered through I-Explore. As part of the module, students work in groups complete a research project, often collecting and analysing academic integrity related data. The students taking the module come from a wide range of STEMM backgrounds. Although they are all numerate, not all students have previously studied statistics and some have asked for more support with data analysis. The StudentShapers student partner will help to develop resources for students to use for self-study for these aspects of the module.

This project offers some flexibility as to the approach and the type of resources developed. The resources are likely to include case studies and worked examples. Some example research data is available to support the project, as the examples should be relevant to the academic integrity frield. The focus is most likely to be in demonstrating to students how to work with and analyse such data and to provide examples of the type of statistical techniques that are available for them to use. Ideas from the student partner as to the best approach are welcome.

Project lead

Thomas Lancaster (t.lancaster@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Computing

Further Details/Experience Required

Six weeks full-time during the Summer break.  One student partner role available. 

This role is open to any student, although ideally one with some experience in statistics and working with data. 

'Academic integrity data analysis' recruitment ad

Summary:

This is a really exciting opportunity for a capable, enthusiastic student to help us develop our curriculum so it is better focused on EDI. Even though efforts are being made to support extra-curricular work in this area, the curriculum itself (despite the recent review), is still somewhat lacking in EDI-awareness. To this end, we are building on a UROP-funded student research project, a follow-up discussion at a TCC meeting, and a briefing paper to have a student work with us and develop some ideas and suggestions that arose from our initial findings.  

We would expect the ideal candidate to have acquired some research skills over the course of their degree that they can bring to the project. Additionally, the student should be able to use their initiative, have a genuine interest in supporting EDI, and be able to engage both staff and students throughout the project’s duration. We are keen to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion in the recruitment process.

Project Lead

Deesha Chadha (d.chadha@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Strategic Teaching Fellow, Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

One Chemical Engineering student, (M.Eng programme), currently in their second or third year of study (will enter 3rd or final year respectively in 2022).

'Enhancing EDI in Chem Eng' recruitment ad

Summary

Accessing information, seeking health and wellbeing support, and simply finding the right person to contact can be difficult for many of us. This difficulty can be worsened when presented with too much information and unsurety of where to begin. Our project aims to address this issue by creating a ‘chat-bot’-like platform that makes it easier and faster for students in the Department of Computing to find and access information and signposting support.

The scope of the project and outputs will be fully defined in collaboration between the appointed students and staff partners (Dr Jackie Bell, Dr Anandha Gopalan and Caroline Gilchrist). We want to focus on the issues students face collectively and how students can best obtain information and engage with department and college procedures.

As a student partner on this project, you will develop a platform that reflects the diversity of our student body and the issues faced, whilst ensuring inclusive access. The platform you develop should enhance the student experience for those enrolled on undergraduate and postgraduate taught, as well as research-focused degrees. You will receive support throughout the project via staff expertise, mentoring and introductions to relevant internal and external partners, including our in-house EdTech Team. You will gain valuable work experience, designing and developing a product from ideation to completion, which will be used by students in the 2022/23 academic year.

Project Lead

Jackie Bell (jaclyn.bell@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Computing

Further Details/Experience Required

Up to 4 weeks full-time during the summer vacation (11 July – 2 September, with flexibility). Bursary payment of £330 per week, up to a total of £1,320 per student. There is also an opportunity to extend this project into the Autumn Term (October – December 2022), on a part-time basis. Four roles available. 

'Building an inclusive platform AskDoc' recruitment ad

Summary

Computing 1 is a Design Engineering module that teaches how to write code for scientific purposes using the Python programming language and supporting tools like the command line and git. The module has two timed programming assessments and weekly unmarked exercises. Currently, students need to discuss their solutions to the weekly exercises with a teaching assistant or the module leader during a tutorial session if they want feedback on their approach to the exercises. Additionally, it takes the teaching assistants a significant amount of time to write feedback when marking the assessments, causing a delay to returning feedback to the students on the module.

This project will build an automatic feedback tool that will provide quick and ideally helpful feedback on Python coding exercises. This tool will allow teaching assistants to provide higher quality feedback to students on the module in less time. The two StudentShapers participants will code the software tool in Python, collaborating with each other and the module leader. They will strengthen their Python skills and use GitHub in a collaborative way to manage the code. They will revisit the weekly exercises and the past example assessments, shaping the feedback generated, and documenting how the tool works so that the teaching assistant can start using in the next term.

Project Lead

Becky Stewart (r.stewart@imperial.ac.uk), Lecturer, Dyson School of Design Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

2 weeks full-time or 4 weeks half-time, during the Summer break.  2 roles available. 

'Building a Coding feedback system' recruitment ad

22 weeks working part-time, from October 2021 to March 2022. 

"Co-creating coaching training for Medical students" recruitment ad

Summary

Students will be co-designing both resources and the overall approach for teaching digital health in three key areas: remote consultations, patient generated data and electronic patient records. Their expertise in their lived experience as students of unmet digital health teaching needs, as well as strategies for delivering such teaching would be highly valued.

Students will have autonomy to explore which areas of digital health they feel more relevant for their educational needs. The strategy co-developed for these three key areas will then spiral through all the undergraduate primary care courses in the MBBS programme at Imperial. Students will also partner with us in how these new resources and learning and teaching methods are evaluated.

Project lead

Viral Thakerar, Patients, Communities and Healthcare GP Course Lead, Renee Ewe, Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice

Further Details/Experience Required

2 MBBS students, from Phase 1b-c, Phase 2 and Phase 3.  Part-time during term-time between November and June 2022. 

'Developing a new digital health theme' recruitment ad

Summary

Now students have completed Phase 1 of their undergraduate medical curriculum, student partners will be reviewing the teaching materials which have been used in the Professional Values and Behaviours Domain. Focusing on if sessions adequately prepared students for the clinical placements, partners will be involved co-designing both resources and the overall approach for this teaching. Your expertise and lived experience as students of the PVB course, as well as strategies for delivering such teaching would be highly valued. We would be especially interested in students who have struggled to engage in the current PVB course, or feel that the course did not prepare them adequately for their placements.

Students will have autonomy to explore which areas of the sessions they feel more relevant for their educational needs. You will be encouraged to consider your own experience, other students, and the wider literature as well as new Medical Licencing examination requirements, before reviewing the current materials and adapting them for future students. You will also have much autonomy in designing these materials, subject to the wider constraints of the curriculum delivery and quality assurance processes.

Project lead

Noreen Ryan, n.ryan@imperial.ac.uk, Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow

Further Details/Experience Required
 

Medical students in Phase 1C. 

Two students for ten days full-time engagement over the Summer break. 

'Review of Phase 1 Materials' recruitment ad

Summary

The student shaper will contribute to reviewing and shaping our undergraduate primary care curriculum from phase 1-phase 3 to strengthen teaching on sustainable healthcare.  This will include reviewing curricular materials and assessments, suggesting changes where appropriate, and co-developing novel, experiential teaching sessions and resources as part of the new Sustainability specialty choice component (SCC) being developed as part the Year 3 MICA course. We will be drawing upon their experience and perspectives as a student and future medical practitioner.

As part of this process, the StudentShaper will learn about cutting edge approaches to teaching sustainable healthcare as well as developing a more in depth understanding of the topic. We will work with the student partner to identify external speakers who are active proponents of sustainable healthcare education. They will also help co-design engaging learning activities that increase students’ confidence in implement sustainable changes within healthcare settings. The student shaper will have the opportunity to co-design the evaluation for the SCC. The Student Shaper will then draw on this learning to inform our joint review of the wider undergraduate primary care curriculum, including assessed project work, to suggest potential areas for change.

Project lead

Renee Ewe, Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice

Further Details/Experience Required

One MBBS student in Phase 2 or 3.  For 18 weeks part-time between late February and July (with breaks to accommodate Exam periods). 

'Sustainable healthcare in the UG Primary curriculum' recruitment ad

Summary

We would like to recruit student partners to work together on co-designing a new interdisciplinary I-Explore STEMM Module “Creating Evidence-Based Solutions to Environmental Pollution and Health” in October 2022. The module leaders have collated a wide range of content for students, through multiple delivery mode including podcasts, videos, workshops and a Golden’s Den activity. This activity to this point has been staff-led but lacks an element of student-driven learning. Studentshapers will focus on enhancing the ‘student-centred’ education of our new I-Explore STEMM module. Student partners in this project will collaborate with us:

• To co-design the interaction activity such as learning activities in weekly theme-related workshop
• To co-determine our planned core teaching resources (podcasts, videos and lecture contents);
• To initiate and create the e-learning space for peer support and peer discussion;
  To co-devise the “Dragon’s Den" assessment

Project lead

Hanbin Zhang (h.zhang@imperial.ac.uk), Early Career Research Fellow, School of Public Health

Further Details/Experience Required

Year-3 undergraduate (UG) STEMM faculty students. For eight weeks full-time across Summer break.  Four bursaries available.

'Evidence based solutions to environmental pollution and health' recruitment ad

Summary

The StudentShapers project on the co-designing of the CGP module involves two student partners with past experiences of completing the CGP to work as partners with course staff in co-designing the module delivery to improve the student experience of the placements.

The students, as partners in co-design, will help staff understand student experience on approaching the placements and the assessment write up by filling the know-do gap on student experiences that the course staff currently have.  The partnership will help co-produce a student facing redesigned placement delivery package, which includes identifying topics, producing student facing materials and improved assessment briefs  for the upcoming academic year.

Project lead

Shyam Sundar Budhathoki (s.budhathoki19@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow, School of Public Health

Further Details/Experience Required

Any BSc Global health alumni from the cohort 2020/21 (Imperial Medical students Year 5) and current BSc Global health students 2021/22 (Imperial Medical Students and external intercalating students).

'Redesigning the Community group placement' recruitment ad

Summary

This project explores the feasibility of extending the use of patient stories from Care Opinion (CO) to (1) enhance the authenticity of the assessment based on CO, and (2) advise on whether curated story collections could be a useful, publicly-available resource for scholarship and education. Using your Care Opinion assignment as a basis, you will  devise a digital walk-through of your selected stories and their analyses. You will explore ways in which this might be achieved (e.g. through click-through annotations of stories? split-screen analysis?). A key component of the project would be to consider whether this work would still achieve the learning outcomes for the assignment. Would it be a useful supplement or replacement for the existing essay, or could usefully serve as a formative assignment in which students could work in groups? Are there risks associated with putting analyses online?

You can expect to gain valuable experience in assessment design, narrative structuring and reflective practice. The project could form evidence of a commitment to appropriate professional values in facilitating others’ learning as part of any future application for associate fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Also, the opportunity for dissemination will enhance your public engagement skills. Should the addition of a curated-story function prove feasible, you will have contributed to innovation in initiatives to improve patient care.

Project lead

Giskin Day (giskin.day@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Medicine Centre

Further Details/Experience Required

All students completing the HPL BSc in May 2022 are eligible to apply.

Five students working for a week and an additional day during Summer break (full details in ad).

'Extending authentic assessment' recruitment ad

Summary

Peer and self-assessment are valuable tools for developing students' ability to regulate their own learning. Employing online tools that supports peer and self-assessment activity will ensure inclusive learning and interactivity. The biggest challenge in the GDS programme is to skillfully use the available platforms within the context of GDS peer assessments. A peer review assessment can only be effective if the educators (teachers and learning technologists) can work together to design and implement the task using the right platform/software according to the content of the assessment.

This is an exciting opportunity for GDS students to play an active role as partners to review the available peer review tools within Faculty of Medicine and Imperial College. 

We have not researched peer review activity from the student’s perspective. This project will help us to better appreciate each other’s points of view and challenge the aspects of online assessments that are often taken-for-granted by both sides. As students, your collaboration will provide insightful, transformational, and improved peer assessment activity that will benefit students, staff, and the university. You will be well supported by the project team.

Project lead

Fouzia Khan (fouzia.khan@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow, National Heart and Lung Institute

Further Details/Experience Required

Six weeks part-time during June and July.  Four bursaries available. 

Current Imperial students who are either presently on, or Alumni of MSc Genes, Drugs and Stem Cells (GDS), who have been through the 6 months of their taught component.

'Different peer assessment tools' recruitment ad

Summary 

Life Sciences students have been using a OneNote reflective e-portfolio as a repository for their assessed work and as an aid to their academic development. Over the summer we will evaluate the e-portfolio and review the technological processes, based on feedback and suggestions provided by students and staff, and make improvements where possible. Student partner collaboration in the development of the e-portfolio is fundamentally important; your experiences will be invaluable to making the e-portfolio as useful and user-friendly as possible.

Students and staff partners from DoLS and FoNS EdTech lab will work together on the three strands of the project that will provide you with opportunities self-development.

Project lead

Magda Charalambous (m.charalambous@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow

Further Details/Experience Required

2 Undergraduate Life Sciences students, for six weeks full-time during Summer break. 

'Evaluating and refining an e-portfolio' recruitment ad

Summary

We wish to conduct qualitative educational research over the summer to investigate the motivations and decisions of academic women within Physics. We aim to understand what is important to academics when deciding which modules to lecture, and whether their choice of lecture course is related to their identity as a physicist. This would work towards understanding the needs of women lecturers and ultimately towards increasing and normalising their visibility during the first half of the undergraduate degree. We will investigate this through interviews with the academic women in the Department as well as the teaching committee. Students’ participation in this project will be invaluable, as they can offer unique perspectives in terms of their own lived experience of the underrepresentation of women in lecture courses, which will shape the interview questions and lead into the discussion of our findings.

Project lead

Jessie Durk (jessie.durk10@imperial.ac.uk), Research Associate, Physics Education

Further Details/Experience Required

2 undergraduate students from the Department of Physics. Students must be in their penultimate year, i.e., 2nd year if on a BSc course, 3rd year if on an MSci course. Students of any gender are welcome to apply.

'Exploring womens Physics lecturers' decisions' recruitment ad

Summary

Student Shapers will partner with academic staff to design an online curriculum map. The curriculum mapping process will include reviewing and mapping curriculum coverage to identify areas of overlap or over-concentration. Therefore, teaching and assessment will become more effective, and the maths curriculum will become easy to navigate and more transparent and accessible for students and teachers. 

As part of undertaking this project we expect the students will develop professional skills involving brainstorming, planning and communication of projects and tasks, will learn how to create a dialogue about the ways in which their discoveries could benefit the full student body and may learn about new digital technologies for designing outputs such as the curriculum mapping tool.

Project lead

Sam Brzezicki (s.brzezicki@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow in Applied Mathematics

Further Details/Experience Required

We are looking for four Mathematics students who have either completed Year 2 or above in the Mathematics UG Programme; ideally at least three students about to enter MSci year (or with significant knowledge of the Year 3 curriculum), or a PhD student who has undertaken their Masters degree within the Mathematics department. Students about to graduate are not eligible as the project will run into September.  The four students we recruit will forge a team which is varied in their interests and expertise - spread across the different sections - AMMP, Pure, Statistics. 

5 weeks full-time over Summer break, split between July and September (dates to be agreed with student partner).

'Curriculum Mapping' recruitment ad

Summary

You will collaborate on developing learning content for a pilot project funded by the Imperial Excellence fund for Learning and Teaching Innovation. The ReCoDE project (Research Computing and Data Science Exemplars) aims to develop and gather exemplars of high-quality research computing and data science projects from various disciplines that demonstrate the use of research software best practices. The exemplars are being created by graduate students and have already been selected through a competitive process. They will contain high-quality annotation to support independent learning. The whole project aims to bridge the gap between classroom instruction that provides basic-to-intermediate programming skills and the development of a fully-fledged PhD project with significant research computing aspects. ReCoDE is currently in a five-exemplar pilot stage. If successful, it will be funded to develop an additional 35 exemplars. 

We expect you to enthusiastically engage with the ReCoDE exemplars in subjects that may be different from your own discipline. The exemplars are selected in such a way that this should be feasible – the emphasis is on the research computing aspects. Your experience in understanding and learning from these exemplars will be crucial in improving and enriching the learning presentation for a wide audience. You will gain new disciplinary and technical skills and a deeper understanding of how students learn. At the same time, you will collaborate with fellow PhD students and teaching fellows from the Research Computing and Data Science Programme in the Graduate School. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to develop your communication skills and for us to appreciate students’ perspectives. 

Project Lead

Katerina Michalickova ( k.michalickova@ic.ac.uk ) Senior Teaching Fellow, Research Computing Skills, Graduate School

Further Details/Experience Required

Two positions for four weeks part-time engagement during July.  PhD students with a keen interest in learning and teaching, and a reasonable knowledge of programming. 

'ReCoDE' recruitment ad

Summary

This project aims to redevelop the first-year Imperial Horizons course Criminal Minds: The Social and Psychological Causes of Crime. The course introduces students to cross-disciplinary research on the biosocial causes of crime and enables them to critically discuss criminal law and policy against the findings of social and natural sciences, including criminology, sociology, genetics, biology, neurosciences and psychiatry. The module has also a deeper pedagogical value as it encourages students not only to think scientifically about crime, thus fostering a science-based approach to criminal policies, but also to always consider the humanity behind it, thus reflecting the importance of a humanistic approach to science and justice. Criminal Minds has proven extremely successful and received excellent student feedback, but the experience of its first two years (2020/21 and 2021/22) shows that the ground-breaking potential of the course has not been fully expressed yet. Students enjoyed engaging with real-life case studies as a way to understand theory, and showed an appetite for more interactive sessions and great curiosity towards policymaking processes. This suggests that the link between theory and practice should be further developed. This project proposes to redesign Criminal Minds to emphasise skills, other than knowledge and by providing more interactive opportunities to appreciate the policy implications of social and natural sciences also by involving policymakers. It proposes to do so by combining the legal/criminological expertise and professional networks of the lecturer with the perspective and scientific expertise of the student. 

The student and the lecturer will jointly redesign the whole Criminal Minds course with the purpose of revising: A. Learning outcomes and teaching approach, to organically embed in the course structure, B. Assessment strategy, to reflect the skills- and practice-based learning outcomes and approach and, if possible, link them to the interactive elements and to the special session.

Project Leads

Lorenzo Pasculli (l.pasculli@imperial.ac.uk), Sessional Lecturer, CLCC

Further Details/Experience Required

Five weeks full-time over the Summer break.  Designed in collaboration with a student partner.

Summary

This project will engage a student partner to help develop a 3D simulation application to augment and enhance the delivery of surgical teaching through the development of interactive anatomical models and other clinically relevant holographic content. The application will be used in undergraduate teaching within the Faculty of Medicine.

This engagement is part of the ViRSE project, which aims to ease the development and deployment of ‘multi-player’ virtual reality into Imperial’s teaching across a range of departments and subjects. ViRSE applications are developed within the Unity game engine and using the C# programming language. The ViRSE system handles most aspects of user interface, networking and rendering; student partners will concentrate instead on building three-dimensional environments and their internal code-rules that can be ‘slotted into’ ViRSE for use in teaching. Training in Unity and C# will be provided, and application development will be undertaken in partnership with the project lead.

Project Lead

Mr James Kinross (j.kinross@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Clinical Lecturer, Surgery & Cancer, FoM

Mr Guy Martin (guy.martin@imperial.ac.uk), Clinical Lecturer, Surgery & Cancer, FoM

Further details/experience required

Some coding experience and a keen interest in clinical education or surgery is required; open to all undergraduates. Project to commence 4th July 2022 and last 8 weeks over summer; some flexibility in timings is available.

'ViRSE Anatomy and Surgery' recruitment ad

Summary

In this project, the students will integrate the ViRSE project’s multiplayer functionality with the digital twin (3D VR model) of the Control Room of the Carbon Capture Plant. It is an exploratory project aimed to design a multiuser VR experience for familiarising with the inner workings, process flows and the functionality of the Carbon Capture Plant esp. the Control Room.

This engagement is part of the ViRSE project, which aims to ease the development and deployment of ‘multi-player’ virtual reality into Imperial’s teaching across a range of departments and subjects. ViRSE applications are developed within the Unity game engine and using the C# programming language. The ViRSE system handles most aspects of user interface, networking and rendering; student partners will concentrate instead on building three-dimensional environments and their internal code-rules that can be ‘slotted into’ ViRSE for use in teaching. Training in Unity and C# will be provided, and application development will be undertaken in partnership with the project lead.

Project Lead

Dr Colin Hale(c.hale@imperial.ac.uk), Dr Nitesh Bhatia (n.bhatia@imperial.ac.uk), Chemical Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Some coding experience and understanding of SketchUp, and 3D CAD models is required; open to all undergraduates. Project to commence 4th July 2022 and last 8 weeks over summer; some flexibility in timings is available.

'Inside the Control room of Carbon Capture Plant' recruitment ad

Summary

This project will engage a student partner to help develop a 3D simulation application for folded, tilted and faulted geological strata, and their projections onto maps and cross-sections. The application will be used in undergraduate teaching in Earth Science & Engineering, within a virtual reality environment.

This engagement is part of the ViRSE project, which aims to ease the development and deployment of ‘multi-player’ virtual reality into Imperial’s teaching across a range of departments and subjects. ViRSE applications are developed within the Unity game engine and using the C# programming language. The ViRSE system handles most aspects of user interface, networking and rendering; student partners will concentrate instead on building three-dimensional environments and their internal code-rules that can be ‘slotted into’ ViRSE for use in teaching. Training in Unity and C# will be provided, and application development will be undertaken in partnership with the project lead.

Project Lead

Dr Mark Sutton (m.sutton@imperial.ac.uk), Earth Science & Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Some coding experience and understanding of basic geological maps is required; open to all undergraduates. Project to commence 4th July 2022 and last 8 weeks over summer; some flexibility in timings is available.

'ViRSE Geological Simulator' recruitment ad

Summary

This project will engage a student partner to help develop a 3D simulation application for mechanical manufacture processes, such as turning. It focuses on providing new undergraduates a first virtual hands-on experience with advanced machining, before they commence training in the Departmental teaching workshop. The application will be integrated within a virtual reality environment in undergraduate teaching of the Design and Manufacture modules in 1st and 2nd year in Mechanical Engineering.

This engagement is part of the ViRSE project, which aims to ease the development and deployment of ‘multi-player’ virtual reality into Imperial’s teaching across a range of departments and subjects. ViRSE applications are developed within the Unity game engine and using the C# programming language. The ViRSE system handles most aspects of user interface, networking and rendering; student partners will concentrate instead on building three-dimensional environments and their internal code-rules that can be ‘slotted into’ ViRSE for use in teaching. Training in Unity and C# will be provided, and application development will be undertaken in partnership with the project lead.

Project lead

Dr Marc Masen (m.masen@imperial.ac.uk) & Dr Idris Mohammed (idris.mohammed03@imperial.ac.uk), Mechanical Engineering, Dr Mark Sutton, Earth Science and Engineering

Further Details/Experience Required

Some coding experience and understanding of manufacturing methods is required; open to all undergraduates. Project to commence 4th July 2022 and last 8 weeks over summer; some flexibility in timings is available.

'ViRSE Machining Simulator' recruitment ad

Summary

We are looking for students who are interested in engaging with making interactive videos for the Lab Pod 1 manual. This task will include the careful review of the current videos to identify aspects for improvement or missing video footage. Afterwards students will participate in filming and editing of the videos to create improved resources. This may include close ups of particularly difficult steps, generation of explanatory figures, voicing of video material and implementing of interactive materials, like knowledge checks. Students unique view as novices of those complex techniques will help generate teaching material that support independent learning for the coming generations of students.

Prior knowledge to film editing is beneficial but not mandatory. We are looking for students who can give us a better insight into what steps are particularly difficult and need more in-depth explanation and video footage, i.e. pipetting, scraping of cells. Thus, we want to specifically recruit students who found working in the labs challenging. To make the videos more inclusive we encourage students from different backgrounds, abilities and Neurodivergence, for example Specific Learning Differences (SpLD) to apply for the project to gain a deeper insight and creating more inclusive resources.

Project lead

Silke Kerruth (s.kerruth@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow, Biomedical Science

Further Details/Experience Required

BMB students who have successfully completed their 1st year. We are looking for students who found the Lab Pod 1 module and its techniques challenging as well as those who felt that they have mastered the techniques.

Full-time for four weeks during Summer break. 

'Interactive videos demonstrating lab procedures' recruitment ad

Summary

The scope of the project and outputs will be fully defined in collaboration between the appointed students and the staff partners. We want to focus on the career readiness, engagement, and aspirations within our undergraduate WP community; and specifically, to consider both employment and further study routes. While employment outcomes are an important factor, we also identify that WP students are under-represented in postgraduate study, and we're committed to addressing this imbalance. Postgraduate study can increase earnings potential and open elite professions, but it is also a step to addressing longstanding inequalities in academic staff and therefore as future role models.

 You will work with staff in the Careers Service and you will also have access to other staff who work in relevant support services. In addition, you will be encouraged to engage key contacts such as Students’ Union Liberation Officers and relevant student networks/societies/groups that represent the WP community.

 You will develop a complete view of the challenges facing WP students and you will review the current resources to identify issues, gaps, misconceptions, and failures. You will also collaborate with the staff to make recommendations for improvements and assist in the creation of new resources that better serve the audience. The goal is help dismantle longstanding inequalities as it is recognised that the challenges faced are far broader than financial but more around awareness and access to meaningful support.

Project lead

Richard Carruthers (r.carruthers@imperial.ac.uk), Careers Service, Deputy Director

Further Details/Experience Required

We’re looking for 2 undergraduate students from any year or academic department. Applicants will have a strong understanding of the challenges facing students from WP backgrounds or be from a widening participation (WP) background.

8 weeks full-time during Summer break. 

'Enhancing social mobility' recruitment ad

Summary

This project offers an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of the ImpVIs project within I-Explore and explore whether projects creating learning materials can become part of the I-Explore programme.  ImpVis is a staff-student partnership project to create interactive visualisations for education: together we design & develop visualisations that are used in courses throughout College to help students learn abstract concepts.

During this time we will explore different ways of running visualisation design & coding projects within the module and run our own trial visualisation projects. You will therefore gain technical skills in coding and/or educational design, in-depth expertise on your chosen topic of visualisation and a detailed insight into the learning & teaching processes underpinning the successful design of a module.

Project lead

Caroline Clewley (c.clewley@imperial.ac.uk), I-Explore STEMM Module Stream Lead

Further Details/Experience Required

Any undergraduate student with an interest in education, specifically in using visualisations to learn abstract concepts. Priority will be given to students who will be taking their I-Explore module in the next academic year; however students at other stages of their undergraduate degree are also welcome to apply.

Six weeks full-time during Summer break. 

'Redesigning ImpVis module' recruitment ad

Summary

Anatomy of assessment project aims to facilitate change in assessment culture by creating an interactive resource of discipline-based examples of good assessment practice from across the College with detailed information about design, implementation marking and student insight. Through this we will be revealing the structure of different assessment types making it easier for staff to consider changing their assessment practice and giving guidance for students as to how to prepare for different formats.

Project lead

Monika Pazio (m.pazio@imperial.ac.uk), Senior Teaching Fellow, Educational Development.  Vijay Tymms (v.tymms@imperial.ac.uk), Principal Teaching Fellow, Physics

Further Details/Experience Required

We are looking for up to 6 partners per Faculty.  You need to be registered as a student on your programme for the entire duration of the project. 

Spread flexibly over 20 weeks.  During term time engagement is half a day per week, with potential for this to increase to around 1 day per week once term finishes. No engagement will be needed during examination/assessment periods of your programme. Other flexibilities may be available, by mutual agreement, including reengaging with the project in September/October for continuing students.

We are particularly encouraging further expressions of interest from students within the Business School.

 'Anatomy of Assessment' recruitment ad

Summary

The first aim of the project is for the revision and modification of the existing pre-session material pre-session e-module, which will involve the tailoring of the information, messaging and pre-session activities. You will be given creative freedom here to develop your ideas which should aim to improve preparation and understanding of the tasks ahead in the Biomedical Kitchen and their utility for laboratory research. One area we are keen for you to engage with to provide a students perspective is the development of visual and video resources to make this e-module more interactive and engaging. The Medical Department has a dedicated film and photography expert who we would be able work in partnership with for any videos that are desired to be produced. The films would then need be edited, using any open-source editing software you are comfortable with.

The second aim of this project will be focused at editing the recipe manual for ease of understanding. Your input in this area would aid in the formulation and structuring of this document. In addition, we welcome suggestions for any new recipe ideas which could aid with training additional laboratory skills in the courses kitchen sessions, or ways the course could be made more engaging for future students attending this course. We also welcome contributions based on ideas from students that fall outside of this remit of those ideas outlined above.

Project lead

Phillip Lawton (p.lawton12@imperial.ac.uk), Teaching Fellow, Biomedical Science

Further Details/Experience Required

Students currently enrolled on the BSc Medical Biosciences who are currently completing either the 1st or 2nd year of the course should apply. 

Four weeks full-time during Summer break. 

'Resources for the Biomedical kitchen' recruitment ad