Many undergraduate students in the Biosciences undertake a research or capstone project in their final semester. Undergraduate research/capstone projects are a high impact educational practice, an opportunity to apply knowledge, understanding and skills from earlier years and to develop new understanding, knowledge and skills. However, most will not go into careers in research, instead entering the vast range of different career opportunities available to bioscience graduates. Recognising this, even before COVID-19, many universities across the World have started to introduce a portfolio of project opportunities beyond the traditional laboratory or literature review projects to enable students to develop skills and gain experience more suited to the majority of students final career destinations.
Covid-19, with its restrictions on access/availability to laboratory facilities has accelerated this introduction of new project formats. However, many non traditional projects are outside the comfort zone/experience of both students and staff. To help both students and staff, I have created 14 FREE one page " How to do it " guides covering both traditional and non-traditional projects , available free at: https://bit.ly/BiosciCapstones . I hope they will be of use to you and your students. Please could you share with colleagues, students and across your country and networks.