The Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia (NURVa) announces Virginia’s inaugural Undergraduate Research Showcase at the Capitol in Richmond, VA. NURVa is a consortium of Virginia colleges and universities dedicated to supporting undergraduate research and creative activity throughout the Commonwealth.

This event will take place in Richmond, Virginia, at the General Assembly Building on Thursday, February 6, 2025, from 3-5pm.

See the Posters in Richmond 2025 for details.

This is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to present their research to the members of the General Assembly in Richmond, VA. This is an excellent opportunity for undergraduates in all disciplines to present their research and creative work.  Presenting student research at the General Assembly building will help those in Virginia who fund higher education understand why these experiences are so important. We want students to tell their stories to their hometown and university legislators so that other Virginia students can enjoy and benefit from the kind of experience they have had!

Longwood University is invited to submit up to five poster proposals. Final decisions for participation will be made by a NURVa selection committee; two posters will be accepted from Longwood University and the student authors on the two selected posters will be invited to present their research at the General Assembly Building on February 6, 2025.

Participants must be undergraduate students during the 2024-25 academic year (December 2024 graduates are not eligible). The research projects submitted should represent a significant investment of time by the student outside of normal course requirements and class projects. The research project must be of sufficient quality to be presented at a professional academic meeting.

Final selections will be made based on the following criteria: 1) sophistication of the work and its representation of undergraduate research or creative activity beyond normal course work; 2) language used is pitched to a general audience; and 3) disciplinary balance (we especially encourage interdisciplinary work).

Process

To submit an abstract, please use Longwood University's internal submission page. Members of the Office of Student Research Advisory Committee will select up to 5 abstracts from Longwood students to submit to NURVa. Submissions are due to Longwood's Office of Student Research by November 15, 2024. Students will be notified if they were selected to progress to the next step of the submission process by November 22, 2024.

Longwood University's Office of Student Research will then submit the 5 selected abstracts to NURVa. A NURVa selection committee will select up to 2 abstracts from Longwood University. Final decisions will be announced no later than December 16 with the event to take place on February 6, 2025, from 3-5pm.

**NURVa will not accept submissions directly from students for this event—all submissions to NURVa must come from Longwood’s Office of Student Research. Please use the Longwood University's internal submission page to submit your abstract.

Abstracts and Impact Statement

Complete submissions will include student and faculty sponsor names, department/field of study, clear title, abstract (of no more than 250 words) and an impact statement. References are NOT included in an abstract. Abstracts should be written for a general audience and be complete, concise, clear, and cohesive. The Impact Statement is a 150-200 word statement describing the project and its broader impact to a legislator to include the significance of the work and the progress made toward completion (to-date).

Why is this important?

Providing undergraduates with the opportunity to engage in scholarly, research, and creative work is important to our students’ educational experience and professional development. We encourage faculty to have their students submit their abstracts to help those in Virginia who fund higher education understand why these experiences are so important.

If you are an undergraduate student, we want you to tell your story to your hometown and university legislators so that other Virginia students can enjoy and benefit from the kind of experience you have had!