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US-Sweden Bioinformatics IRES: Investigating Engineering Students’ Attitudes and Perspectives Throughout a 10-week International Research Program

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Biomedical Engineering Division: Developing Lab and Research Skills for BioE/BME Students

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41201

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41201

Download Count

254

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Paper Authors

biography

Mark Chapman University of San Diego

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Mark Chapman is an assistant professor at the University of San Diego in the Department of Integrated Engineering. His interests lie in the fields of skeletal muscle mechanics, muscle disease, exercise physiology, international education and engineering education. He earned his MS and PhD in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego and a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Minnesota.

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Marissa Forbes University of San Diego

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Abstract

The US-Sweden Clinical Bioinformatics Research Training Program is an NSF-funded International Research Experience for Students (IRES) program that aims to develop a diverse cohort of globally competent and engaged scientists/engineers that seek career opportunities and collaborators throughout the world. The program consists of a six-week preparatory virtual training series, a 4-day pre-departure symposium at the University of San Diego and a ten-week research program on site at the Science for Life Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden. The focus of this paper is to examine student attitudes and perspectives during their time abroad through an analysis of blog entries.

In Summer 2021, six engineering undergraduates—three women and three men—participated in the inaugural program session. Over the course of the ten-week program, the students completed blog posts in response to four prompts related to their experiences, observations, and challenges. In this paper, we present a qualitative analysis of the student blogs using a hybrid deductive and inductive thematic analysis approach. Our findings span two primary categories: professional and personal.

Chapman, M., & Forbes, M. (2022, August), US-Sweden Bioinformatics IRES: Investigating Engineering Students’ Attitudes and Perspectives Throughout a 10-week International Research Program Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41201

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