Integrating virtual internships into online classrooms
With the rapid increase in the number of online enrollments, educators are faced with the challenge of ensuring on-campus experiences are available to distant students, which meet quality and accessibility expectations. One of the biggest challenges with online courses is constructing meaningful group projects for part-time students who can be in disparate time zones. As part of our Master's biotechnology programme, offered completely online, we have developed a capstone course for students approaching graduation, which integrates a semester-long project working with a small biotechnology company in the DC metro area into the course curriculum. The experience and results from these projects have been well received by the participating students and companies. We describe some of the challenges we have faced, strategies we have developed, and ongoing modifications to the programme to integrate projects with small biotechnology businesses into the online classroom.
Changing Information Requirements for Local Company Projects
Students in their senior-level capstone strategic management class at an Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited business school analyzed issues facing local companies for their project, rather than studying Fortune 500 companies. Although area small and mid-sized enterprises benefitted from the analysis and students gained valuable experience through the “consulting” project, business reference librarians had to adapt their library orientation for locating business information and identifying resources for the local companies, most of which were privately held. Integrating the library orientation and assistance into the closed loop assessment is discussed. Suggestions for replicating the project as well as areas for future research are included.
Marie Curie's doctoral thesis: Prelude to a Nobel Prize
This paper is a critical account for the most significant body of Marie Sklodowska Curie's scientific work, presented in the hopes that she be remembered for more of the "right" reasons. It also offers some new insights into her methods and results.