Program
Water Resources Program
College
Interdisciplinary
Student Level
Master's
Location
PAÍS Building
Start Date
10-11-2022 11:00 AM
End Date
10-11-2022 1:00 PM
Abstract
Universities serve as a hub for the advancement of water science and engineering knowledge and innovations. However, much of that expertise does not reach communities that could benefit from such knowledge. Many universities and research centers attempt to address this by organizing broader impact outreach events. Anecdotally, we have seen that of a pool of approximately 100 water-focused students, only the same small subset participates in every event while over 70% of those invited never volunteer to participate. Therefore, there is a need to assess students' motivations and hindrances for volunteering. This study aims to survey undergraduate and graduate student scholars to examine motivations and hinderances for participation in volunteer broader impact outreach events outside of their degree requirements. Examples of motivating factors include desire to help society, advisor encouragement, and experience in the past as a recipient; examples of hindering factors include lack of time, lack of relevance to their work, and lack of skills to perform outreach. We will use the findings to implement a targeted strategy for broader impact student outreach that aligns with student desires at two NSF funded Centers-- the University of New Mexico Center for Water and the Environment and the Intermountain West Transformation Network.
Student Water Scholars and Broader Impact Outreach: Motivations and Hinderances to Participation
PAÍS Building
Universities serve as a hub for the advancement of water science and engineering knowledge and innovations. However, much of that expertise does not reach communities that could benefit from such knowledge. Many universities and research centers attempt to address this by organizing broader impact outreach events. Anecdotally, we have seen that of a pool of approximately 100 water-focused students, only the same small subset participates in every event while over 70% of those invited never volunteer to participate. Therefore, there is a need to assess students' motivations and hindrances for volunteering. This study aims to survey undergraduate and graduate student scholars to examine motivations and hinderances for participation in volunteer broader impact outreach events outside of their degree requirements. Examples of motivating factors include desire to help society, advisor encouragement, and experience in the past as a recipient; examples of hindering factors include lack of time, lack of relevance to their work, and lack of skills to perform outreach. We will use the findings to implement a targeted strategy for broader impact student outreach that aligns with student desires at two NSF funded Centers-- the University of New Mexico Center for Water and the Environment and the Intermountain West Transformation Network.
