Irfanul Alam, Ph.D. student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, SWAP Exchange Coordinator, CU Boulder
Irfanul Alam is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the EBIO department at CU Boulder. He is advised by Lisa Corwin, Ph.D., and is investigating the effects of course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) courses on students’ ability to engage civically with the community using their STEM skills.
Alam employs quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches for his investigation and hopes to improve CURE design and assessment with regards to undergraduates’ scientific civic engagement (SCE). He has created a survey that can measure predictors of SCE and is using the instrument to model differences between CURE courses in the U.S. Concurrently, he also is leading a case study at the University of Texas at El Paso to explain how students’ social identities impact their level of scientific civic engagement.
After completing his doctorate degree next year, Alam hopes to continue his line of work around social identities as a postdoc.
Outside of graduate school, Alam has actively pursued opportunities to get involved in the CU Boulder community that eventually led him to work in DEI. He first volunteered at SWAP where he was paired with a student to practice speaking English as well as help them get acquainted with American culture. As a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) student lead, he created a workshop for international TAs that focused on helping novice instructors teach effectively and how to deal with student conflicts. He then worked with other graduate students at CTL to create a new JEDI micro-credential program for students, staff and faculty. Finally, Alam also helped redesign GPSG’s DEI award to recognize the work of other graduate students and professionals.
During his spare time, Alam enjoys tending to his collection of houseplants, cooking and watching videos of Shiba Inus on YouTube in the hope of adopting one.