Pandemic Pivots: The Successful Transition of an NSF Research Internship to an Online Format

The Transfer-to-Excellence Summer Research Program is an exciting opportunity for community college students to conduct hands-on research in the labs of faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Funded by an NSF Science and Technology Center and a private foundation, the program seeks to inspire students to transfer and complete a Bachelor's degree in science or engineering. Typically a nine-week residential program, the 2020 Transfer-to-Excellence program was greatly impacted by COVID-19 and a state-wide Shelter-in-Place order. This paper details the successful transition of the Transfer-to-Excellence program to an online format, including remote research projects, mentoring, bootcamp, professional development, and community building events. Analysis of quantitative evaluation data demonstrates that, despite the remote format, interns had a very positive internship experience and highly satisfying mentoring relationships with graduate students. Most notably, the internship significantly enhanced students' confidence to succeed as a student in science and engineering, and self-efficacy in their research skills. As such, this paper and poster presentation will provide a model for similar NSF funded programs pursuing an online format. The administrative team expects such transitions to become increasingly common for various reasons, including the need to adapt to unexpected health and environmental barriers, reducing cost, and expanding access to nontraditional students unable to participate in residential programs.