GopheResearch

About

GopheResearch is a “Monster.com” for undergraduate research to help widen opportunities for UMN undergraduates to participate in research. GopheResearch was developed by Kashif Qureshi, an undergraduate in CBS.

The objective of this tool is to provide an efficient means for undergraduates to find research opportunities of different types (e.g., paid positions, work study, directed research, UROP) within our college or more broadly at our university (we are starting with CBS researchers and will expand to faculty in other colleges). We expect this tool to be beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic because opportunities for undergraduates will be limited by the need to practice physical spacing and to utilize shift work in research labs. We hope the use of this tool will help widen the base of faculty seeking to serve as mentors to undergraduate students. We also hope this tool will provide a means to more efficiently match students with mentors.

Why I designed GopheResearch?

Finding research should not be a problem at an R1 University. By creating this website and tool I hope to streamline the research-seeking process by allowing for effective communication, offer a more precise, targeted search and not overwhelm faculty with emails that they may not see. The database is updated in real-time and will reflect any changes that faculty members make.

In light of recent events (May 2020), I encourage students from Minnesota's racial/ethnic minority and underrepresented communities to venture in research opportunities which help garner valuable experiences, forge relationships and build a professional network that may help reduce the impact of structural inequities in our system. Personally, research has opened many doors for me that I would otherwise have never thought possible.