1. ESE 290/291 Undergraduate Early Research Experience
D. E. Koditschek
358 GRW

2. Outline Motivation (why ESE created 290/291)
Logistics (organization; credit; process; …)
Course overview (content; workload)
Summary

3. Motivation Student Interest Student Need Departmental Need
learning “how to learn”
literature search in unfamiliar technical domains
taking the pulse of current state-of-art
addressing gaps in personal knowledge base
extracting more complete value from Penn
assessing career options (full spectrum)
Departmental Need
students do not really know us
intellectual culture

4. Logistics Course numbering
co-requisite: ESE 290 (research skills) for 0.5 CU
co-requisite: ESE 291 (research experience) for 1.0 CU
ESE 290, 0.5 CU: structured exercises focused on technical skills
Finding, interpreting, using source articles
Planning, executing, reporting research
ESE 291, 1.0 CU: mentored lab experience
individually arranged student/faculty pairing
Selection process
course website: read available faculty project proposals
students apply: for one of these (or submit alternative proposal)
faculty select: before add/drop period
ESE 290/291
fulfill’s EE, SSE, NETS 1.5 CU lab requirement
does not fulfill CMPE concurrency lab requirement

5. Course overview: workload; goals
Workload: 1.5 CU ¼ 10 – 15 hr/wk effort
ESE 290: ~ 1 hr/wk lecture; ~ 1-3 hr/wk exercises
ESE 291: ~ 5-10 hr/wk lecture lab work
Students gain
critical thinking skills: relevant to any technical/engineering career
research experience: what it’s like; what ESE faculty “do”
potential longer term match: summer internship; papers; …

6. Summary Have Fun! 1.5 CU: apply for project via portal
ESE 290 : 0.5 CU structured exercises
ESE 291: 1.0 CU individually mentored project
Explore whether research is right for you
connection : may lead independent study projects or lab positions
life skills: critical thinking; problem solving; self-directed
University of Pennsylvania: don’t miss out/regret
Have Fun!