The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

About the program

Launched in Australia in 1996 by Dr Doug Hilton, The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) connected and facilitated undergraduate student placements with biomedical research organisations in Victoria. The goal of the program was to provide hands-on, real-work experience, boosting students' success in their education and future careers. 

Undergraduate students embarked on a paid internship under the supervision of a scientist, contributing to Australia's cutting-edge biomedical research. The Program was designed to harness the wisdom and expertise of our best biomedical researchers, and to connect them with highly capable undergraduate students interested in research, for a mutual learning opportunity. 

Through UROP, students experienced working in research teams; developed expertise in laboratory techniques and experimental design; developed skill sets for future employment; contributed to science publications and presentations; and created a professional network. Their supervisors also developed mentoring skills to enhance their leadership and management performance. 

Since 2004, UROP facilitated more than 800 paid student placements, with over 600 scientists involved in excess of 70 Victorian research divisions. 

The program was generously supported by CSL from 2010, and CSIRO became the administrator in 2020. Since CSL support began, the Program placed over 530 tertiary student interns in 50 plus Victorian research divisions, supported by more than 460 supervisors. 

Outcomes

Monitoring and evaluation between 2022 and 2025, measured key Program outcomes, including:

• respondents from both stakeholder cohorts (students and supervisors) reported high levels of satisfaction, program quality and likelihood to recommend to others. 

Student outcomes (32 students surveyed):

• 82 percent reported their needs were exceeded by the program
• fifteen students were undertaking, or planning to undertake an honours or post-graduate qualification and 60 percent of these students said the placement positively influenced their pursuit of tertiary STEM study
• the majority of students reported improved confidence in the application of their STEM knowledge and skills (between 90-100% of students across skill areas)
• 94 percent reported their needs were met or exceeded by the program.
   

Supervisor outcomes (25 supervisors surveyed):

• 84 percent agreed that students made a moderate (56%) or major (28%) contribution to their research goals, with 16 percent of students deemed to make a minimal contribution
• 96 percent agreed their mentoring skills had improved as a result of participating in UROP
• all supervisors surveyed agreed that their students improved across all applicable skill areas, except for 'preparing scientific papers and reports', where one supervisor noted their student demonstrated no improvement
• of the supervisors surveyed, 16 offered their students further post-placement opportunities - with four students offered continued employment; six were offered further study; and another six students offered both
• reasons for supervisors (12) not offering further study or employment opportunities, included students having existing opportunities or connections with alternative universities, business related limitations or lack of funds
• 92 percent would recommend the program to others. 

UROP Destination Report

For more information on the outcomes of the Program, you can download a copy the UROP Destination report. 

UROP Destination Report (October 2022)  PDF (530 KB)

UROP Destination Report (October 2022) - Text version TXT (51 KB)