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Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing Engineering Education via WebVR-Based Online Laboratories
Published on: February 23, 2024
Virtual Undergraduate Research Experiences: More Than a Pandemic Stopgap
Tahoura Samad1,2, Heather E Fleming1,3, Sangeeta N Bhatia1,2,4,5,6,7,3
1Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Virtual research internships offer a solution for undergraduate training during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This approach can complement traditional mentoring, providing valuable research experience even after the pandemic ends.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Research
- Science Education
Background:
- The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic disrupted traditional laboratory access for undergraduate education.
- Experimental research groups faced challenges in providing hands-on training to students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and implementation of virtual undergraduate research internships.
- To advocate for virtual research as a supplementary training method for undergraduates.
Main Methods:
- Designing and executing entirely virtual research internships for undergraduate students.
- Adapting experimental research training for remote participation.
Main Results:
- Successful development of virtual undergraduate research internships.
- Demonstrated feasibility of remote research training.
Conclusions:
- Virtual research internships can effectively train undergraduates.
- Virtual research offers a valuable complement to traditional undergraduate mentoring models.
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