# Summer Research Program

**Source**: https://education.uq.edu.au/our-research/summer-research-program
**Parent**: https://employability.uq.edu.au/summer-winter-research/find-project

### 2026 Summer Research Program

##### Engage in a formal research project over the summer semester with the UQ Summer Research Program.

The UQ Summer Research Program provides UQ students with an opportunity to gain experience working alongside a researcher in a formal research environment in their area of interest at UQ.

Student applications **open** 22 September 2025

Student applications **close** 12 October 2025

2026 Program opens 12 January 2026

2025 Program concludes 20 February 2026

[Discover more about the Summer Research Program](https://employability.uq.edu.au/summer-winter-research)

#### **UQ Summer Research Projects:**

## Beginning teacher preparedness

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| **Project title:** | Beginning teacher preparedness |
| **Hours of engagement & delivery mode** | Hours of engagement must be between 30 hrs per week 12 Jan – 20 Feb 2026. Program will be offered on-site and remotely, e.g. Zoom/Teams meetings. |
| **Description:** | The program involves analysing and exploring focus group datasets from beginning teachers (e.g. pre-service and early career teachers). The aim is to identify key aspects of preparedness for practice and what supports beginning teachers to ‘think’, ‘feel’ and ‘act’ like qualified teachers. In addition, the program will highlight the experiences of students who have utilised a student access plan during their initial teacher education program. |
| **Expected outcomes and deliverables:** | Scholars will gain skills related to thematic analysis and NVivo coding. Scholars will contribute to one or more presentations and/or publications for scholarly and/or practitioner audiences. |
| **Suitable for:** | This project would be suitable for 3rd or 4th year social science students with an interest in professional experience, preparedness and beginning teacher wellbeing. |
| **Primary Supervisor:** | Dr Stevie Hepburn, Lecturer and Director of Professional Experience, School of Education. |
| **Further info:** | Feel free to contact the Primary Supervisor for further details:  [s.hepburn@uq.edu.au](mailto:s.hepburn@uq.edu.au) |

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