The Judy Genshaft Honors College serves as an incubator for talented students tackling
real-world problems. One example is the Honors IT team — a small cohort of students
who develop software applications for the college and support information technology
in classrooms and studio spaces. Recently, their work has expanded to serve the entire
University of South Florida.
In 2022, the Honors IT team and Associate Dean of Planning and Programming Reginald
Lucien noticed a gap in the undergraduate research process: there was no centralized
space where faculty could post research opportunities and students could find them.
The concept behind the USF Undergraduate Research Portal was born.
Thanks to support from Florida High Tech Corridor’s Undergraduate Research Initiative, the team was able to research, plan, design, and build USF’s first dedicated undergraduate
research portal. The portal went live to the public in fall 2023, and the team has
continued to test and enhance features based on faculty and student feedback.
The Wizards Behind the Portal
By leading a university-wide project that now serves more than 2,500 users, Honors IT students have gained résumé-building experience that has propelled their computer science careers – and even led to impressive internships at industry-leading firms.
“I wouldn’t have been able to intern at Google without this experience,” said Honors
IT student Anzhelika Kurnikova. “In my interviews last summer, I would introduce myself
by talking about the research portal and how it's being used by over a thousand students
and faculty,” she said.
For Lucien, the Research Portal represents more than a technical success — it’s an
opportunity for students to gain real-world industry experience.
“Our students are going out to find these internships because they're using industry-grade
software,” said Lucien. “They're understanding the same lingo, and they're naturally
transferring their skill set over into their respective industries.”
Continuing to Grow
After two years of refinement, the Undergraduate Research Portal now connects students
with opportunities tailored to their interests and needs. The portal allows users
to indicate if they are federal work-study or international students, ensuring they
see listings relevant to them.
Faculty also benefit from ground-breaking new features. Faculty members who post opportunities
on the portal are prompted to complete an extensive profile, through which other faculty
and students can see their research interests, biography, and previous grants. In
the new profile search system, faculty can find collaborators for their projects,
sparking new connections and interdisciplinary collaboration at the university.
With the expanding support of the Corridor Undergraduate Research Initiative, the Honors IT team plans to further improve the Research Portal’s interface to meet
users’ evolving needs. Upcoming features include customizable profiles for students
and faculty, with plans to eventually provide access to external users in the Tampa
Bay community.
Though building the portal was a major undertaking involving many stakeholders across
the university, the Honors IT students grew as professionals while learning the importance
of teamwork, communication, and collaboration on large-scale projects.
Reflecting on her learning curve throughout the project, Honors IT student Sofia Mitsuyuki
de Menezes said the team became a close-knit support system:
“They were like the big brothers and sisters in computer science that I never had.”