By Susanne Togeby, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Private

A group of first-semester students recently won the award for Best Paper at this year’s GoodIT conference. Not only had they delivered a very well-developed game raising awareness of hate crimes towards the LGBTQ+ population in Denmark, but they also managed to present the scientific foundation so well that their article won the prize for best paper at the conference. This success of course came with the dedicated support of their supervisor.

Their supervisor, Carlos Diaz, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, Design, and Media Technology, advocates for bringing student projects out into the sunlight instead of archiving them in the drawer with completed semester projects.

”Some student projects are very generic, but there are some projects that actually help bridge a gap in knowledge, or that present something very innovative or creative. Of course, the students do not see these pearls because they do not have the knowledge and experience. But good scientific knowledge and products are always worth sharing and important for development.”

Giving students a platform

Carlos’ role in the process involved introducing the students to the possibility of publishing their results in the first place. He also helped transforming their semester report into a 12-page article, communicating with reviewers, and negotiating with the department to enable the students to attend the conference and present their own project. This is important to Carlos because the students spent an entire semester working on the project and know their work better than anyone. Participating in the conference also gives the students the opportunity to receive the recognition they rightfully deserve.

"My idea is that professors should use their platform to help build the students' CV, which can be instrumental in helping them secure a job in the future.”

Phillip Rumpelthiin, one of the students involved in publishing the project at the GoodIT conference, emphasizes how important it was to him that Carlos recognized the significance of their work and made sure the recognition was given to the students.

"It means a lot to me that Carlos saw the potential in the group, the importance of the topic, and wanted to publish with us. The topic is very close to my heart, so it was incredibly validating and motivating to be recognized for the work. I am still deeply grateful for both the experience, the opportunity, and the knowledge that came with it. It was really special,” he says.

An appeal for Aalborg University to support students in presenting their papers at conferences

For Carlos, the greatest reward is seeing his students succeed.

“Professionally, I can have the publication in my CV as their coauthor, which I think is a fine trade. But personally, this is secondary for me - what really matters is the students learning and fulfillment. Seeing their pride and joy at having an article published makes it all worthwhile. It also makes me proud and happy to see I helped them a bit here, and that it might be a difference in the future when applying for a job.”

With this approach, Carlos hopes to inspire more supervisors to focus on student-centered practices, allowing students to gain recognition for their semester projects. He also calls on Aalborg University to increase its support for students attending conferences, enabling them to present their findings in person.

When students and supervisors publish together?

Together with colleagues, Carlos Diaz is developing a code of conduct for publication. For example, when can a supervisor be a first author, when should students be in the acknowledgements and not coauthors, when should students be first authors, when to include co-supervisors? Currently there is no regulation, and the existing guidelines are blurry to say the least, according to Carlos. Here are Carlos’ recommendations:

• Involve your students in the process from the beginning, so they understand what is happening and learn from the experience. This can prepare them to publish by themselves in the future.
• Find ways for them to help you, so they also learn from the writing process and get to know what being a first author implies.
• Find a way to allocate budget so they can go to conferences and present their own work, instead of you presenting their project. They know their work better than anyone, and they worked a whole semester on it, they deserve the credit!