On September 11 and 12, the University of Turin hosted an international conference on the topic of undergraduate research. Long story short: it is important to engage youth in research as it improves their academic skills, broadens their political horizon, and awakens their sense of citizenship. However, it is as important to talk about students as it is about teachers. But let’s put everything in order. 

Keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Harald A. Mieg was invited to give an introductory speech, which – in just under an hour – summed up many stimulating ideas and possibilities regarding this kind of educational technique. 

Metaphors of Science: the House and the Tree

To highlight the benefits of research over conventional studies, Dr. Mieg used two distinct metaphors for science in general – an old one and a new one. The former insists that conventional science is like a three-story house; the first floor represents basic knowledge, the second the advancement in science, and the third constitutes the realm of unexplored possibilities and potential contributions to science. The new metaphor – which, according to him, is more in use today – is that science is a tree; in a world where knowledge in some sectors doubles as fast as every three years and where basic knowledge plays a smaller role than it once did, science is a tree that, although it has its roots firmly planted in basic knowledge, through specialization (the trunk) allows one to enter the infinite possibilities of science (the crown) directly, without moving from level to level. 

Within the discourse on undergraduate research (UR), it is important to make a distinction between research-based learning (RBL) – which is actually a much broader topic and does not always share the points discussed here – and inquiry-based learning (IBL), a concept that goes beyond not only the undergraduate environment itself, but also the university field in general. By observing how this educational technique is also used in primary, middle, and secondary schools through workstations and open tasks, it is possible to gain a more complete understanding of how it works. 

What Is Undergraduate Research?

Undergraduate research is a “mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge“. This is the definition on which Dr. Mieg bases his discourse.

Mentored

This term refers to the role of teachers in this educational technique, a topic that is still widely debated in this field of study. When one thinks of UR, one imagines the work of the students, their growing commitment, and their stimulating motivation. But what is the teacher’s role in all of this? Who proposes creative challenges for the students? Who celebrates their achievements, supports them in their journey, guides them, and helps them get published? Who demonstrates and teaches the importance of things like peer review? And when should all of this start? From the beginning of their academic careers, or rather during their third year? Should all students be oriented towards research, or only the most prominent ones? These questions are yet to be thoroughly explored, and events such as this convention help to gather experience and help professors, who guide their students alone through the complex mechanisms of the academic world, to find new and effective ways to teach.

Creative Inquiry / Contribution to Knowledge

This part of the definition poses some questions on the ultimate goal of research for the students themselves.  As mentioned before, there is the possibility of being published, which provides motivation. However, to get published, a new contribution to knowledge is usually required. But it is important to notice that in the definition provided by Dr. Mieg, “newness” is not contemplated as a necessity; this is because “newness” is not solely outbound, but it can also be inbound. In other words, what is new to the student is not necessarily new to the academic world.

Undergraduates

This term finally leads us to discuss why research is a stimulating activity for all students, even non-academic ones. Counterintuitively, the system often does not require any research at all in a wide range of disciplines, and disregards their contributions. However, research can be found anywhere, even in the most conventional disciplines, and it can take many forms. Research could be collecting data or making simulations with modern tools, but it can also be experiments, hermeneutics, theory building, modeling professional practice (e.g. social work), machine developing, or design. What matters is that, whatever form the research takes, it helps to create something that cannot be simply reduced to a new contribution to knowledge. It fosters something more in each individual student; they start to think critically, to be engaged politically, they learn how to create, how to move forward, how to pursue an objective, and how to be ready for the unpredictability of life (research, experiments, simulations).

Through research, students can acquire all the competences that today’s world requires, in the hope of facing the future as well-prepared as possible.

Viktor Smolkin

Source:
Mieg, Harald A., Elizabeth Ambos, Angela Brew, Dominique Galli, and Anca-Maria Bliuc. The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2025).