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This study aims to examine the factors influencing undergraduates' intention to use university digital libraries by integrating the information system success model and affinity theory.

Based on the 265 valid responses gathered through a survey, the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was employed to test the research model and hypotheses.

The results indicated that system quality and digital libraries (DLs)' affinity significantly affect undergraduates' user satisfaction. However, information quality and service quality does not. User satisfaction has significant impact on undergraduates' intention to use university digital libraries.

Librarians and service providers should focus on enhancing the system quality of digital library and DLs' affinity, to improve the undergraduates' user satisfaction, further motivating undergraduates to use university digital libraries.

The information system success model is enriched by affinity as an additional construct.

The aim of this inquiry is to uncover the pattern of knowledge-sharing behaviour among the undergraduate and postgraduate students of private universities in Bangladesh.

This inquiry studied the knowledge-sharing pattern of undergraduate and graduate students by utilising a questionnaire-based open-ended survey from several private universities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Apart from the descriptive statistics, the research used t-test to further explain the data.

This research focussed on seven areas of knowledge-sharing pattern. The data collected from 350 respondents from different private universities suggest that there are significant differences in the knowledge-sharing pattern between undergraduate and graduate students. Overall, this research documents that the postgraduate students have shown higher perceived attitudes towards knowledge sharing, compared to undergraduate students.

This research applied a descriptive study to understand knowledge-sharing patterns among undergraduate and postgraduate students, rather than a correlational study to ascertain the relationship among variables.

This research has contributed to the knowledge-sharing research in several aspects. In fact, this study extended the research findings of Wei et al. (2012) by examining the patterns of knowledge sharing in a different socioeconomic environment. Although this research investigated the practice of knowledge sharing of undergraduate and postgraduate students by adapting the instrument of Wei et al. (2012), one of the significant contributions of this research is to explore the behavioural aspects of knowledge-sharing pattern among undergraduate and postgraduate students from different private universities in Bangladesh. By interpreting the knowledge-sharing pattern of undergraduate and postgraduate students of private universities, this inquiry will assist the government’s policymakers, management of individual universities and academicians to come up with novel methods of instruction and to transform the knowledge-driven higher learning establishment.

The majority of studies on knowledge sharing have been conducted in an organisational context. This inquiry is one of few investigations to compare the knowledge-sharing patterns among undergraduate and postgraduate students in Bangladesh.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of technical skills, soft skills and social mobility skills on the perceived employability of Malaysian undergraduates in energy-focused universities. This study also aims to investigate the moderating effects of academic performance on such relationships.

To accomplish these objectives, this study employed partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse data obtained from 247 Malaysian undergraduates from public and private energy-focused universities across Malaysia. The Human Capital Theory served as the overarching theoretical framework for the study.

The study reveals that even if an undergraduate has stellar grades, they will not help him/her to land a job if they lack basic technical and computing skills. This study also indicates that undergraduates’ current academic performance affects their perceived employability despite already possessing the necessary soft skills. Along with academic performance, social mobility skills can be a determining factor in how graduates see their own employability. This is because social mobility has a significant impact on graduates’ chances of finding gainful employment.

This study provides insights into how technical skills, soft skills and social mobility skills influence the perceived employability of Malaysian undergraduates, especially in energy-focused universities, and the role of various parties involved. These parties, such as higher education institutions, are the key players that can initiate strategies to enhance specific skills and steer a public conversation towards a more methodical strategy for boosting graduates’ employability for future employment. This research also sheds light on how to better prepare for emerging job opportunities in the energy sector.

The study examines the effect of technical skills, soft skills and social mobility skills on the perceived employability of Malaysian undergraduates in energy-focused universities for future employment among Malaysia’s universities’ graduates. By providing a multidisciplinary viewpoint, this study paves the way for future research partnerships among experts in higher education, researchers in related fields and career researchers.

This study investigated the influence of teachers on undergraduate students’ development of research aspirations and the mechanisms behind this process.

Employing social cognitive career theory, the study gathered data from 232 undergraduates, developed a structural equation model via the maximum likelihood method and executed empirical testing.

The findings reveal that neither direct nor emotional mentoring independently satisfies students’ needs for self-efficacy and aspiration in research nor significantly influences research interest. Specifically, the study demonstrates that (1) research self-efficacy, outcome expectations and research interest significantly shape research aspirations; (2) an overemphasis on direct mentoring might impede research aspiration development and (3) a focus on emotional mentoring, while overlooking direct mentoring, could result in diminished research self-efficacy.

This research pioneers a comprehensive analysis of the role of teachers in shaping undergraduate research aspirations through the lens of social cognitive career theory. It underscores the critical need to both balance mentoring approaches and foster intrinsic research motivation.

This chapter examines the design and impact on student learning in two STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) capstone undergraduate research courses at Saint Augustine’s University. It discusses how these courses help student metacognitive capabilities as they synthesize their learning across the program, demonstrate holistic development, and successfully negotiate the transition to their next academic and career pathway. It couples data from these capstone research courses with a review of the literature to elucidate the conditions and impact that undergraduate research STEM capstone courses have benefited students, faculty and the University. These best practices for the capstone courses may be used as a model for other HBCUs capstone courses or undergraduate research experiences. Throughout this chapter, the following questions are addressed: How do the capstone courses prepare students for graduate school and/or the STEM workforce? How are the capstone courses enhancing student undergraduate experiences? How do the capstone courses offer authentic research experiences for each student in spite of limited resources and faculty? How do students and faculty feel they have benefited from the capstone course experience? How have students overall learning been enhanced because of the capstone courses?

Higher Education (HE) teaching, learning and research require not only cognitive but also emotional commitment from all who are involved in those dialogic processes: the academic and the student. The focus of this chapter is on unexplored territory: emotions at play within undergraduate research (UR) outside the classroom, specifically experienced by students who are engaged in these opportunities for the first time. After reflecting on the problem and bringing together theoretical approaches related to this theme, the authors present a case study, drawing on qualitative data collected in two institutional contexts – one in the UK and other in Portugal. The data analysis leads us to create a framework that addresses the authors’ two research questions, concerning: the emotions that students experience when they are involved in an UR project, and the aspects of that experience the reported emotions relate to. This leads the authors to suggest some recommendations at the end, so they can move toward a more humanized HE experience. This chapter gives an original contribution to discussions on emotions in HE teaching, learning and research in general, and UR in particular.

Typical undergraduate research programs involving HBCU students have several weaknesses including the short time of the students’ involvement in the research and the variable level of commitment of faculty mentors. Another issue at HBCUs is the lack of both start-up support for new faculty and external research support, which limits the quality of research projects and the pool of faculty mentors. We designed our NSF-funded undergraduate research program to be a professional development program to help faculty expand their research program and improve their mentoring skills, while at the same time involving undergraduates in research.

Faculty in STEM departments competed for Student Support Grants that provided support for research-related equipment, supplies, travel, and up to two students for one year. Faculty submitted proposals describing their research project, the role of students in the project, and their student mentoring plan. Faculty mentors could recruit their own students for the project, and both faculty mentors and students were required to commit to the research project for one year.

Outcomes of the program were very positive for both the faculty and the students. All of the involved students presented their research at conferences and several were co-authors on research publications. All but a few of the students continued working in research even after their time in the program was over. In addition, many of the supported faculty members were able to use the financial support as a springboard for successful applications for other grant programs.

Louisiana State University (LSU)’s Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) is an award-winning office devoted to developing effective, educational approaches that incorporate guidance and exploration, increase students’ academic standing, and support measures to improve the institution’s diversity, predominantly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments. Through the incorporation of three main factors, Mentoring, Education, and Research, OSI has developed a holistic development model that offers students strategies to overcome those factors that affect their persistence in STEM. OSI houses several programs with a diverse population of students ranging from the high school to doctoral levels. Although varied in student population, these programs unite under the holistic development model to provide support and opportunities to students at each critical educational juncture. OSI’s holistic approach has successfully supported over 135 high school, 560 undergraduate, and 100 graduate students. Of the 560 undergraduate students served, 51% were underrepresented minorities and 55% were women. The undergraduate initiatives have garnered 445 bachelor’s degrees, with 395 degrees from STEM disciplines, and an impressive overall graduation rate ranging from 64% to 84%. Through all of the remarkable work performed in OSI, the greatest accomplishment has been the capacity to offer students from mixed backgrounds tools and strategies to thrive at any point in their academic career.

Morgan State University (Morgan) is a leading undergraduate institution for black science and engineering doctoral degree recipients. Morgan also is a leader in the production of black engineering degree recipients in the United States. This chapter provides a historic overview of the major programs with a tie to the impact on the institutional metrics, a discussion of the process for developing researchers in science and engineering, and alumni perspectives. The undergraduate research development models used in engineering at Morgan are compared and contrasted with the life sciences and physical sciences. The programs focus on developing communities of engineering practice and communities of science, thereby enhancing students’ self-efficacy and resilience, shaping disciplinary identity, and creating learning communities. These approaches are critical for the success of minority students and are supported by the social science literature. Best practices have been adopted at varying levels by the School of Engineering, the School of Computer Mathematics and Natural Science and the Behavioral Science departments that have netted these Ph.D. outcomes including multiyear mentored research, research training courses, and participation in professional meetings. Multiple approaches to student development, when matched with the disciplinary culture, are shown to result in national impact.

The aim of this study is to gauge the consideration toward sustainability and sustainable development in the creative process or activities in design practices among the design undergraduates of University A, Russia, and University B, Malaysia. The beliefs, attitudes and intentions toward all the dimensions of sustainability – environmental, social and economic – were assessed and compared between both institutions.

A questionnaire was administrated to 127 design undergraduates from University A, Russia, and 135 design undergraduates from University B, Malaysia, to assess their beliefs, attitudes and intentions toward sustainability and sustainability development in their creative practices.

The outputs of this investigation suggested that the courses related to education for sustainable development that preached in design programs at University A, Russia, have developed appropriate beliefs, attitudes and intentions toward sustainability and sustainable development in creative process or activities among the learners on environmental and social sustainability issues. The subject on sustainable development offered in design programs at University B, Malaysia, has mold positive beliefs, attitudes and intentions on the environmental sustainability issues in creative practices among the design undergraduates. The outcomes of this study shed some light on the effectiveness of the courses related to education for sustainable development of both institutions in building the appropriate mindset in the creative process during design activities.

This study on the consideration of sustainability and sustainable development in creative practices is novel and the outputs of this study can carve the path for an effective education for sustainable development courses in the design programs, specifically in the context of building the appropriate beliefs, attitudes and intentions toward sustainability and sustainable development in creative practices among the future designers.