Teach students to think like researchers

Across the world, universities are feeling pressure to demonstrate how great their research is. Being cited and published in higher education rankings are important factors that contribute towards institutional credibility. But solely focusing on these points could mean missing out on something much bigger.

Beyond accreditation, accolades and reputation, research can help students become much more adaptable and better prepared for their futures. 

With our liberal arts approach, we’ve been thinking about how to improve our approach to research a lot. We don’t just want students to be workplace-ready. We want them to be more confident and able to deal with unexpected futures.

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Just three years ago, undergraduate research in our School of Science and Engineering was somewhat limited and rather informal. Opportunities depended largely on individual faculty initiative, and student engagement was sometimes uneven.

Today, our undergraduate students are internationally recognised at industry conferences, and co-author papers in Q1 and Q2 journals. Most importantly, they leave us with skills that extend far beyond any single publication.

This change didn’t just happen overnight. It took leadership with purpose. We had to be set up to support this process, and academic staff needed to recognise that conducting undergraduate research is a priority, not just an extracurricular task. 

From aspiration to infrastructure

The first change we made was to stop thinking that research is something students only do when they’ve almost completed their degree.

We asked ourselves the question: “What if we teach students how to think like researchers from the outset of their studies and give them thoughtful purpose?” We wanted to see what would happen if a research mindset became an automatic part of their learning.

The answer came in the form of a new research course, added to our undergraduate programme. This teaches students how to think about problems from a research perspective and connect what they learn in class to real-life problems – and solutions. 

We also ask students to consider how this approach could help them start their own businesses and make a difference to the world. This has helped them view research as an innovative tool for entrepreneurship, able to deliver a positive impact on society.

Empowering faculty to unlock student potential

A good research culture requires more than just student enthusiasm. The teachers also have to be on board and given the power to make decisions. Faculty empowerment has become a crucial part of effective research culture.

As a result, the school also started a programme designed to help and support faculty members with grant writing to secure funding for their research projects. The idea was basic but made a huge difference – every project that got funded had to have undergraduate students helping with the research.

This decision has really changed things for the school’s research. The faculty has gained the resources needed to pursue new ideas, and students are now deeply involved in research projects that give them guidance from professional mentors and scholars around the world. 

Undergraduate research is no longer an add-on – it’s transformed into being a part of daily academic life, and a vital contribution to our teaching and learning work.

It becomes a virtuous cycle. Faculty benefit from motivated research teams, students develop confidence and competence, and the institution strengthens its research profile without losing sight of its educational mission.

Connecting research to relevance

Clearly, research needs to be valuable if it’s going to help students prepare for futures which are increasingly uncertain in a complex world. To cater for this, we’ve ensured our research proposals are relevant in two ways. First, projects have to be connected to students’ learning in class. 

Second, research work must be related to the real world and receive input from employers across a spread of different industries. This makes research meaningful and helps students learn from knowledge and techniques they can actually put into practice.

Undergraduate capstone projects are now an essential part of the research ecosystem. They are connected to what the teachers are researching, what the school ultimately wants to achieve, and also things that matter to companies. 

Each year, the school also runs a research summer school where students from subject areas such as engineering, computing, data science and technology all work together to solve problems that businesses are actually facing. 

These challenges can range from things like making systems and automation work more efficiently, or finding new ways to be sustainable and innovative using digital technology. 

This approach illustrates how the liberal arts work effectively to bring diverse skills together and examine bigger pictures through integration and breadth. Dealing with exactly the same obstacles graduates will face when they finish their studies.

Research visibility and impact is vital

It’s vital to make research visible and have an impact. Research outcomes need to be seen and to change things.

It’s easy to forget that key part of undergraduate student research is sharing what you’ve discovered with audiences who matter. All of our students present their ideas at a special Innovation Day where they also get to talk to people who work in industry. This helps students understand what employers need the most and builds their confidence when it comes to communicating the value of their work.

Our Festival of Learning is another occasion where students present their completed projects through live demonstrations in front of businesses and other external partners. The goal is to bring research objectives and impacts to life in front of a real audience, rather than just leave it hidden away in a report or laboratory.

This further helps them learn to express their ideas clearly and manage feedback, and they begin seeing themselves as knowledge creators rather than simply observers and learners. They recognise they are actually helping to create new things and make a difference to others’ lives.

Using leadership as catalyst

To make a change like this, we need leaders who are willing to spend time and money, and who believe in their students’ ability to think about research challenges differently. Additionally, we need to create a system that helps teachers guide students and allows people from multiple subjects to work together with real-world companies and organisations.

Our experience has been to progress matters one step at a time, beginning with changing what students learn, then helping teachers to do their jobs more effectively, followed by creating teams that work together from across disciplines. 

We’re also making sure that people know more about the work that we do. This has helped us create more than just change in classrooms. We are building a new way of doing research to fit the type of liberal arts education we want to provide. 

For academic leaders interested in this approach, consider the following:

1. Embed research early and intentionally

It’s crucial to teach students how to think like researchers while they’re undergraduates. Show them how to ask questions in the classroom and connect their learning to things that are happening in the world. We want research to be something useful and relatable to everyday life, so students can see why it matters.

2. Invest in faculty-student partnerships

Seed funding tied to undergraduate involvement is really good for the faculty because it gives them power. At the same time, it provides students with authentic research experience. This is a way for students to learn and get real experience with research.

3. Design for relevance, not just rigour

Align capstones and research initiatives with institutional priorities and industry-informed challenges to ensure real impact. At a time when higher education is increasingly being asked to prove its relevance, undergraduate research offers a powerful answer. When students are trusted with meaningful responsibility, they do not simply learn; they lead. And when institutions commit to that vision, they develop graduates who are ready for a lifetime of adaptation and innovation.

4. Prioritise and value visibility

We should make student research visible to everyone. This enables members of the public to see what students are working on and what they have discovered. Showcase student capabilities and help their achievements become something others talk and care about by creating platforms for presentation, dialogue and dissemination. This will also help build confidence and a strong professional identity.

Salah Al-Majeed is dean of the School of Science and Engineering at Al Akhawayn University.