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The Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program is a transformative approach to enhancing higher education by engaging undergraduate and graduate students in ambitious, long-term, large-scale, multidisciplinary project teams that are led by faculty. The program has been rigorously evaluated and refined over more than two decades.
In VIP, teams of undergraduate students – from various years, disciplines, and backgrounds – work with faculty and graduate students in their areas of scholarship and exploration. Undergraduate students earn academic credit for their work and have direct experience with the innovation process, while faculty and graduate students benefit from the extended efforts of their teams.
Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) is a program created to increase student access to hands-on learning with faculty mentors and diverse teams.
Faculty working on long-term projects that need students from multiple disciplines and skill areas are invited to create a VIP course. Students are then able to join their team and earn credits.
Each VIP project is set up as a unique section of:
Each project team consists of sections of VIP from each level, so that students from different levels of experience can work together and learn from each other as they solve the challenges of the project.
The courses are set up in the course catalog to allow maximum flexibility and long term engagement.
Students must have a permission number from the instructor. To request a permission number students should contact the VIP mentor directly and/or complete this Student Application form.
Led by VIP mentor Dr. G. Denise Carroll
Statesboro Botanical Garden
Students will investigate aquatic and terrestrial communities at the garden to determine organismal composition in each habitat. Their investigations can help to determine how to conserve or increase diversity.
Led by VIP mentor Dr. Heidi Eisenreich
Mentoring Adults as Teachers to Help Students
Impacting PK-6 students by helping adults understand mathematical concepts. Building a community of math learners.
Led by VIP Mentor Ms. Suzanne S. Hallman
BIG-IDEAS
Business Innovation Group (BIG) created the Innovate workshop to give community members the tools and resources they need to THINK BIGger.
Led by VIP Mentors Dr. Karin Fisher and Dr. Stephanie Devine
Education for All
Embark on a transformative journey by joining the Breaking Barrier’s class, where curiosity meets action. In this dynamic virtual course, you’ll explore the rich landscape of disability research, uncovering untold stories and challenging conventional wisdom. Through engaging discussions and hands-on activities, you’ll learn to navigate the ethical complexities of research and harness the power of data to drive change. With opportunities to present your findings at conferences and coauthor publications with Drs. Fisher and Devine, you’ll expand your academic horizons and make a tangible impact on the world around you.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Dragos Amarie
Engaging students in designing, developing, and fabricating microfluidic devices to be used in live cell migration experiments. Using selected polymers, students build a network of channels, smaller than the human hair, that split and recombine flows of chemicals to generate and study 2D concentration landscapes that could stimulate or inhibit cell migration. For example, future studies of cancer cells’ response to such chemical landscapes could lead to a better understanding of cancer relapse.
Led by VIP Mentors Dr. Anthony Siccardi, Dr. Heather Joesting, and Ms. Brigette Brinton
Sustainable Aquatic Systems
Managing water utilization is a growing concern for many US states. Our team’s research is focused on water sustainability through projects involving aquaponics/hydroponics, recirculating aquaculture systems, algal turf scrubbers, and constructed wetlands.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Urkovia Andrews
Students experience designing and implementing service-based projects through partnerships with the surrounding community.
Led by VIP Mentors Dr. Asli Aslan and Dr. Lacey Huffling
Students will be able to enroll and investigate innovative water research and work with a diverse range of students, mentors, and communities to tackle the multidisciplinary issues in water research.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Hossein Taheri
Students will conduct research, explore innovative engineering solutions, design and manufacturing. Students will learn how to bring their ideas to the real world and test their performance while learning about new engineering technologies such as Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and 3D printing.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Rocio Perez
Students will be able to evaluate the use of natural polymers such as cellulose to design and synthesize composites, decreasing the amount of organic solvents in the process. Students will also study the capacity of these natural composites to extract emerging pollutants from several environmental samples such as water and soil.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Mark Vincent Dela Cerna
Cancer remains one of the most common causes of death in the US. We are interested in identifying and characterizing proteins that may be involved in cancers and ultimately finding molecules that can inhibit the function of these proteins. In the future, we hope that these molecules will be the basis of some cancer therapeutics. Currently, our efforts are focused on a family of proteins called Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases that are involved in regulating cellular signaling pathways.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Shainaz Landge
The WRAPS project is to bridge the barriers between student research scholars and writing peer-reviewed research articles. Its main goal is to help students develop confidence, exposure, and proficiency in writing scientific articles. By offering a strategic structured pathway to navigate the research article writing process, WRAPS will not only empower students with the writing process but also enhance the broader skill set (time management, discipline, self-awareness, communication, teamwork, and adaptability) necessary for academic and professional success.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Sara Gremillion
Students involved in this team will explore research focusing on interesting fungi in the environment. Projects will target:
i) What fungi live inside of plant leaves and what abiotic factors alter those relationships;
ii) Do fungal leaf spot pathogens of peanut undergo sexual reproduction leading to increased fungicide resistance; and
iii) What fungi may be causing zombie-like behavior in millipedes in Coastal GA.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Meenalosini Vimal Cruz
Students will engage in intellectually stimulating research that integrates diverse viewpoints from neuroscience, brain signal analysis, and human consciousness. This extensive study will explore various dimensions of human consciousness, including meditation, mindfulness, controlled breathing, and emotional analysis, investigating how these practices affect brain signals. Students from different disciplines, such as Biology, Psychology, Health Science, and Computer Science, can work together in this study. The primary goal is to develop a deep understanding of the mechanisms behind consciousness expansion and its effects on physical and mental health.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Jianzhou He
In this SWEEP project, students will unravel the fundamental fate and transport processes of emerging pollutants in soil and water environments. Students will also leverage innovative, cost-effective engineering solutions to mitigate the impacts of emerging pollutants on human health and the ecosystem. Participating in this project in a team-oriented approach with well-defined tasks will equip students with the state-of-the-art research ideas, thoughts, and skill sets, leading to a productive and high-quality learning outcome for the individuals.
Led by VIP Mentor Dr. Stephen Griffin
An adapted physical activity program that conducts personal training for individuals (kids and young adults) with disabilities. Super Eagles pairs an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Inclusive Fitness Specialist with an individual with disabilities to perform an 11-week personal training program. The purpose of the program is to improve physical strength, cardiovascular endurance, balance, flexibility, and neuromuscular performance for individuals with disabilities in order to improve their health and live a more independent life.
We are so happy that you are interested in potentially joining a VIP team. Students will work with faculty, fellow students, other collaborators, etc., on important real-world, challenging projects. You will earn academic credit for your participation through the VIP course. VIP provides a way for students to participate in large-scale research projects and encourage participation for several semesters if not years. Students who participate for longer periods of time are likely to see improved gains in all of the below areas as they gain expertise in the research experience.
Students must have a permission number from the instructor. To request a permission number students should contact the VIP mentor directly and complete this Student Application Form.
There are numerous benefits associated with involvement in research in general. For example, students who participate in research have been shown to have the following:
VIP is a team-based research experience, students will learn more about how to effectively work in teams. And students will get to know their faculty mentor and other project leaders, who ideally can write letters of recommendations for graduate school and jobs later on.
Students in their first semester of a VIP project will be oriented to the topic and the project. You can likely expect to read journal articles on the topic, engage in safety training or human subjects ethics training (if applicable), and learn how to use equipment or design studies. Once you’ve gotten more familiar with the project and the topic, you will do more advanced work. Students who have been on a VIP team for a few semesters may be asked to take on leadership roles, helping to mentor newer students on the project. Students who have been on a VIP team for multiple years may be doing very independent work that can become a capstone project or senior thesis.
All students will enroll in a course each semester that they participate in a project. The Primary Instructor(s) of each team will create a syllabus for their section of VIP, which will explain the grading requirements. Students may be graded on the quality of their work on the project, their performance on a team, their attendance/participation in team meetings, and possible outputs such as a final poster, oral presentation, and/or paper (note that this list is not exhaustive; please consult the instructor(s) for more information).
The VIP program is open to all students of all majors at all levels. You can join teams that are in your major or outside of your major, although we advise you to consult with your academic advisor regarding how VIP credit can fit into your degree program.
Some of the project descriptions may target students in particular majors, but if you’re interested in joining a project and your major isn’t listed, please do not hesitate to reach out to the primary instructor of the team to see if you might be a good fit. Often, students’ backgrounds, interests, and enthusiasm may make them a good fit even if their major is not listed.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a VIP Mentor for a VIP team! The VIP program allows us to help scale up research involving students, facilitating high-impact research with relevance. Below, we’ve provided a little more information on the program specifically for team leads. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your ideas with the VIP Director, please do not hesitate to reach out.
The VIP program is designed to help faculty launch and sustain high-impact, long-term, large research projects. Faculty or staff who serve as Primary mentors on VIP projects will be well positioned for external funding, publications, and presentations. In addition, the campus will become part of the VIP Consortium, which provides resources on best practices in managing large research teams, assessment, etc.
There is also initial seed funding for the first year.
All students will enroll in the VIP course section as part of the VIP experience, for a variable number of credits depending on the workload (we recommend one credit per semester so the students do not exceed the maximum credit hours too quickly).
As the lead mentor on this project, you will be assigned a section of VIP each semester, and you will create the syllabus and assign grades at the end of the semester.
As a mentor, you will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the project, making sure that students are participating effectively, teams are functioning well, and the research is advancing as proposed.
The VIP mentors will participate in virtual workshops and training before the Fall semester begins to familiarize themselves with VIP. They will be responsible for completing VIP progress reports and assessment information. They will facilitate internal budget spending in the first year and will work with Sponsored Programs to submit for external funding for their VIP project.
As a rolling application process, this is the beginning of a conversation on how VIP can help you and your students succeed! Please complete the application if you are interested in starting a VIP Team at Georgia Southern. Applications that fully support experienced-based education, embrace multidisciplinary scholarship, support collaboration, embody diversity, and promote stakeholder alignment from freshman to faculty to funding agencies are welcomed.
Yes. In the first year, each team will receive seed money to launch their VIP team. Spending of these funds must be done in accordance with regulations for state funding. It is expected that VIP teams will seek out external funding for their projects so they can become self-sustaining for future years.
Please email us at vip-gsu@georgiasouthern.edu or to slandge@georgiasouthern.edu with questions and/or to schedule a phone call or zoom meeting.
Dr. Shainaz Landge, Director
Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
slandge@georgiasouthern.edu
912-478-1883