Why Undergraduate Research?

The undergraduate research project is very crucial for getting selected for a postgraduate research program. However, it does not mean that it is only necessary for a student who will be in academia in the future. It is important to develop a wide range of skills including analytical skills, technical writing, creativity, problem-solving skills, time management, team working, communication skills, presentation skills, and critical thinking. These skills are not required only by academia but also by many industries/ organizations that favour the mentioned skills in their recruitment processes. 

I also experienced that during my interviews in two private organizations I worked at before my PhD study. In my interview for the internship at GSK, one interviewer asked me what are the projects I participated in? Since our internship program was completed before the final year, at that time I did not do my undergraduate research project. But in semester 3, since I had some interest in research, I was fortunate to involve in research for some period with Dr. (Mrs.)  Thilini Ariyadasa. It was about the production of biodiesel from marine microalgae. Therefore, for that question in my interview, I talked about it as one of my projects. Then interviewers asked additional questions about what I was doing, and things related to the research problem.  In GSK, I was also assigned to find a research-based solution for an issue in a manufacturing vessel. 

After my graduation, I also experienced the same thing during my interviews at IFS. Even though my undergraduate research project is not related at all to the work in IFS which is a global enterprise software provider, interviewers asked many questions about my final year research project. They were about the research problem, objectives and outcome of my research, experimentation, skills development, and the challenges I encountered during the project. In fact, my research experience and enhanced skills were not only helpful during all the interviews, but also for the work I engaged in these two organizations. Therefore, I strongly believe that undergraduate research is certainly useful and significant for every student no matter where his/her destination is. It is a huge learning cycle if the student involves with passion and perseverance in his/her research.

• Research before the Final Year

It is usually not a mandatory thing to involve in research before the final year. But it can be definitely advantageous to anyone if he/she desires to involve in research at least up to some certain period. Even though I could not do any experiments in the research I contributed before my final year research project, I was able to familiar with the structure of research papers, and how to read and understand them. In fact, it was worthwhile for the literature survey phase in my final year of the research study. If you get involved in research in the initial years of your degree program, you can have sufficient time to learn research-related things smoothly. It may lead you to adapt to your research quickly and effectively in the final year. This is totally up to the interest of the student and the acceptance of a supervisor. I have also seen that some other students in my department reached out to lecturers and got such opportunities. There may be many such opportunities open to you if you really inquire committedly.