As it is, the world is experiencing a paradigm shift; a shift from the way things should be to a reality we can’t help but adjust to. Students, now at home are meant to be in school while the finalist amongst them would have been facing their undergraduate projects research squarely. I could tell by experience, how disconnected the project students have felt while in Isolation; almost like the feeling when your school is observing strict industrial action. To stick closely to the paradigm shift, there is need to improvise as a sophomore, final year student and researcher.

I’m writing particularly about final year project students who might have chosen their undergraduate project topics and ready to commence research before the pandemic struck. Undergraduates sure need networking now than ever before, especially those preparing for their research project which is a prerequisite as long as their undergraduate programme lasts. So I thought seeing reasons with me will motivate you to connect and network for the sake of your undergraduate project.

What’s the big ‘Y’

Stay in touch and collaborate
If you never planned to relent in your undergraduate research efforts, doing it alone while at home will certainly require extra motivation and could turn out less strenuous. You could gear up with your network of co-research students. This decision will help you stay in touch with each other, keep each other informed about your progress, constraints and next move. It will most especially keep everyone in this research chain engaged, instill a collaborative spirit and make everyone productive finally.

To make the ‘connect’ a lot easier, conference calls can be hosted using mobile apps like whatsapp or the latest - Zoom. With zoom, you can actually schedule a meeting with your network of friends and when it is time, everyone should be there for a hangout.

Plan for the unexpected
Like mentioned earlier, a paradigm shift is in vogue and is likely to continue; like the ‘Professor’ in the ‘Money heist’, there is a plan in place for every supposed action. But we are kept in the dark in this case, about how much longer the stay at home embargo will last. So you should plan for the unexpected, best done with a network of like minds.

Your project supervisor is not there to guide you physically but he could join your undergraduate research network if you’ll find him sociable enough.

Fun time won’t hurt, never have
While networking for the sake of your research, please also make out time for fun. It will certainly make the virtual company complete and appealing to everyone in the research cycle. Recall that home right now is boring, some icebreaker won’t hurt .

Hmmm