SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship)

See XJTLU website.

OBJECTIVES

  • To stimulate active research interest and creativity of undergraduate students
  • To provide an opportunity for students to support academic staff in their research.
  • To provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to develop their practical skills and to apply knowledge learned in class
  • To provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to present their research findings internally and externally, and develop presentation skills
  • To boost the reputation of XJTLU’s students and student research in the region

SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process for SURF is a two-stage process starting from the beginning of second semester every year.

  • Stage one is the staff proposal stage. Academic staff will propose research projects to the University. The selection process will occur at the School level.
  • Stage two is the student application stage. Once the University announces approved SURF projects, student can then apply to be a SURF research fellow for specific project. The SURF supervisor is responsible for the selection of suitable students.

The evaluation of Stage-one staff proposals will be based on the following criteria:

  • the project’s ability to provide a beneficial learning experience for the SURF student(s);
  • the project’s feasibility, coherence and academic merit;
  • clarity in how students will be supervised throughout the project.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Undergraduate students that are in years 1, 2 or 3 of study at XJTLU
  • All SURF applicants must be currently registered at XJTLU on an undergraduate degree programme. Students who have suspended study or who have had their studies suspended by the University are not eligible to apply.
  • Applications across disciplines are allowed: Staff can select students from other departments.
  • All SURF students must attend the SURF Poster Fair; failure to do so will result in removal of the wording “and poster competition” from participating certificate.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECTS

  • This is an extracurricular non-credit bearing project. The project cannot be a substitute for or count towards a Final Year Project.
  • SURF can, in certain cases, be used to fulfill programme-level Work Placement requirements. It is the responsibility of the student to work separately with his/her department to obtain the appropriate approvals and complete all relevant requirements.
  • The project must be innovative, have clear objectives, detailed content, operable methods, and a reasonable budget.
  • Project proposals are encouraged to involve local industry and the local environment.
  • The duration of a project is typically 10 weeks, although projects as short as five weeks will be considered. The project should be undertaken from after final exams to late August. No stipend will be paid for research done after the end of August.
  • For each project, a Principal Supervisor must be identified, particularly when more than one supervisor is named on a project. The Principal Supervisor should be an XJTLU academic staff member with sufficient background in the relevant field.
  • Principal Supervisors must be on-site to supervise the project or make appropriate. Arrangements for student supervision. Principal Supervisors will be required to sign a declaration ensuring student supervision.
  • Academic staff can be a Principal Supervisor on only one project.
  • There can be no more than three funded research students per project.
  • Any results/products from the projects are the property of XJTLU and can be utilised in other areas of learning, teaching and research as seen appropriate by XJTLU.

REPORTING

  • All students are required to present results at a University-organised event in Semester 1 following the summer.
  • After the successful completion of their research activity and the presentations of their findings, students will be given a certificate of participation.
  • There will be School winners, an academic-rated winner, and a student-nominated winner from the SURF Poster Fair.
  • Students who withdraw from or fail to complete a project and who have received their stipend must return the total value of their stipend. The SURF Team will administer the process with the student in consultation with the Principal Supervisor. No certificate will be awarded.
  • For students who withdraw from or fail to complete a project and have not received their stipend, no certificate will be awarded.

FUNDING

The SURF Team administers the budget to support the SURF programme which is set on an annual basis.

BUDGET CONTROL

The Principal Supervisor is responsible for managing the allocated project budget and controlling costs assigned to the project.

Project Description

SURF2021 (Closed): Development of an automatic controlling module for greenhouse gas online measurements

Global warming is driven by greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The emissions and absorptions in ecosystems are important processes for the balance of ambient GHGs. Recently we have developed new condition-regulated ecological chambers for conducting experiments with controlled air conditions, plant species, and soil types, while we need an automatic controlling module which can work with our gas analyzer for continuous GHG measurement. This project will develop the controlling module, which integrates a microcontroller and multiple solenoid valves for measuring gaseous methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. It will be used in further research on the exchange of GHGs between ecosystems and the atmosphere.