As summer quickly approaches, many minds begin to turn toward vacation and post-graduation plans. Despite the large number of students who will be leaving Bloomington for the summer, there are still numerous activities that take place on campus aimed at improving the academic, professional, and research skills of our students. One such program is the Summer Scholars Institute—a STEM initiative that is held on both the IU Bloomington and IUPUI campuses each year.

The Summer Scholars Institute (SSI), a University Graduate School initiative, will be hosting its ninth iteration of the program during summer 2015.

This eight-week program is designed to bring together IU students and students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to collaborate and build research partnerships with faculty from these universities. During their time here, students not only spend an extensive amount of their academic time on their research projects, but they also have a chance to participate in workshops hosted by STEM initiative faculty, acquire technical skill and training, receive GRE preparation, and socialize with students, faculty, and other professionals who share their interests while staying in the IU residence halls.

While we hope initiatives such as the SSI will help get students through the gates and into the classrooms here at IU, we also want to ensure that we see them beyond the gates.

While it is important for students to take time to appreciate the joys of summer, we also want to ensure that they also have a chance to fully utilize the resources and opportunities that are available to them at IU.

For more information about the Summer Scholars Institute and other STEM Initiatives happening at IU, please visit our website.