The office of undergraduate research (OUR) was awarded the Nevada Commission on Mentoring (NCOM) Spring 2023 Micro-grant for the project, “Expanding Research Education Program (REP) for High School Students Across Academic Disciplines." The funds, acquired by Levent Atici, executive director of undergraduate research and PI, and Rafael Oganesyan, OUR program manager and Co-PI, will be used to support both the OUR Research Education Program (REP) for High School Students and OUR Research Education Fellowship (REF) Program for Undergraduate Researchers.

"The microgrant we have received from our state’s Department of Education marks our commitment and responsibility to work in partnership with all local agencies including the CCSD,” says Atici. “Education is a continuum that needs to be bridged effectively through visionary leadership, strategic planning, and innovative curricula. The NCOM funding support will advance our efforts to recruit the best and brightest high school students, providing them with the opportunity to connect with UNLV resources and faculty early on. More importantly, this grant is a good first step toward enhancing meaningful collaborations among multiple local stakeholders serving our student population.”

OUR’s Research Education Program (REP) for High School Students introduces self-motivated, high-achieving, and research-minded high school students into UNLV’s research and teaching ecosystems and engages them in scholarly discussions in collaboration with undergraduate mentors. Each semester, REP participants are invited to present their semester-long projects alongside UNLV’s undergraduate researchers during one of OUR’s research symposia.

NCOM was established to support and facilitate mentorship programs in the state of Nevada and to work in consultation with the Nevada Department of Education to provide direction and guidance to the State Coordinator for mentorship programs.

For more information about OUR’s programs and awards, please visit the OUR website.