Overview

Indigo Research is dedicated to transforming the education landscape by pairing high school students with research mentors to complete and publish research projects. We aim to deliver transformative educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of scholars.

Indigo’s new Global Research Lab mentorship program is a premium, blended (in-person and virtual) research mentorship experience tailored for ambitious students who want to perform hands-on, experiential research in a fully functioning wet lab that results in rigorous, high-quality neuroscience research projects. The 6-week program will take 20 students through the phases of primary research and paper creation in the biology and biotechnology fields:

• Introduction to Inquiry (Virtual, 2 sessions, 3 hours/session to be held month before students arrive on campus),

• Wet Lab Mentorship & Bootcamp (In person),

• Finalizing a Publication-Ready Research Paper (Virtual, group and 1:1 sessions for 3 months after students leave campus).

Role Overview

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are responsible for supporting Mentors to achieve academic objectives. In addition, they assist the Mentors with activities, research, etc. TAs remain with the students throughout the academic day (over two weeks, M-F), and lead students during their work in the research lab. TAs also periodically hold office hours to provide students support with research, writing, and general academic inquiry. Like Mentors, TAs are responsible for providing feedback and a research project evaluation. Your responsibilities shall include the following:

Planning

• Course Planning: Review all of the content, lesson plans, and readings. Review the roster for any notes on students, such as learning differences, session switching due to travel, and other special circumstances.

• Training: Complete necessary training to work with in-person students (age 14 and above) as directed by Indigo staff.

• Meetings: Attend sessions as needed with Indigo staff for administrative items and logistics. Meet with the Mentor to discuss the class format and content.

• Host virtual pre-arrival sessions, including Academic Orientation over Zoom;

  • Manage Zoom links,

  • Go over and provide examples of literature reviews,

  • Create summary of assignments and resources,

  • Track attendance,

  • Monitor submissions and provide feedback.

• Prepare overview to all students, including the following:

  • Class content,

  • Homework submission reminders,

  • Your office hours.

Responsibilities during and outside sessions

• We ask that you prepare for your sessions ahead of time, collecting readings, reading through student work to ensure the session is focused and productive.

• Most of your student contact will consist of classroom time. Mentors / Teaching Assistants will:

• Take attendance at the beginning of each class.

• Offer assistance to your professor and actively engage with the students, answering any questions they may have (during class and online.

• Lead classroom sessions and help students achieve academic objectives as directed (e.g. data analysis, drafting a research paper).

• Mentor students regarding their research, academics, and skills growth.

• Work with Premier Mentor to actively engage students, answering questions (during class and online).

• Review and provide feedback on assignments.

During the Program but outside of class time the Mentor / Teaching Assistant will:

• Hold office hours each week with your students (estimated 2-3 hours/week).

• Check the students’ assignments.

• Review and respond to students’ submitted assignments and requested articles.

  • Provide feedback on homework assignments, ensuring they are of a high standard. Homework counts as 40% of the overall grade. The final research paper and presentation count for 60%.

  • Check the Homework folder through which students will request access to scholarly articles once a day. Download these requested articles through your institutional access and upload them ASAP to a folder provided,

  • Check student work for plagiarism and unsanctioned AI use.

• Hold online office hours for 30-60 min at the end of each in-person classroom day, meeting with students to ensure they finish their research papers.

• Take photos as requested to show student activities and progress.

• We ask that you reply to emails from administrators or other Indigo staff within 48 hours.

• At the conclusion of your work with student(s), we ask that you upload your students' work to the Flamingo or Crimson App and inform the Indigo Program Coordinator.
  

Responsibilities after the program concludes

• Post-Mortem: Participate in a comprehensive review of the academic portion of the program, making suggestions for improvements.

• Provide overall feedback for each student, using an Indigo-provided format.

Qualifications:

• PhD candidates in STEM currently in or graduated from US top 30 or UK top 20 universities (Molecular Biology, CRISPR and Genetics is preferred)

• Master’s students in STEM currently studying at or graduated from US top 20 or UK top 10 universities (Molecular Biology, CRISPR and Genetics is preferred)

• Available to be on-ground in Singapore from the 15th of June to 11th of July

• A high degree of empathy and deep cross-cultural comfort when working with high-school students

• Comfortable receiving feedback and implementing changes

• Excellent writing background and understanding of the structure and purpose of a research paper, publication

Compensation:

8000 SGD per cohort (2 cohorts in total).

By joining Indigo Research as a Teaching Assistant, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of aspiring students, helping them to break down geographic barriers and access high-quality research mentorship.