An Undergraduate Consortium for Addressing the Leaky Pipeline to Computing Research

TL;DR

This paper addresses the underrepresentation and attrition of students from historically marginalized groups in computing research by introducing the Undergraduate Consortium (UC) at AAAI. The authors design a structured program combining targeted outreach, a tailored call-for-participation, a multi-level mentorship model, conference-based engagement, and a rigorous evaluation to support undergraduates toward graduate study in AI. Using pre/post surveys and qualitative feedback across 2020–2022, they report statistically significant improvements in self-efficacy, sense of belonging, computing identity, and related constructs with large and medium effect sizes (e.g., $d>0.8$ for several measures and $d>0.5$ for others), while noting pandemic-related variances in 2022. The discussion emphasizes lessons learned—making goals explicit, metering engagement, and stakeholder education—and argues for broader adoption of this portable, evidence-based framework across STEAM conferences to broaden participation in computing research.

Abstract

Despite an increasing number of successful interventions designed to broaden participation in computing research, there is still significant attrition among historically marginalized groups in the computing research pipeline. This experience report describes a first-of-its-kind Undergraduate Consortium (UC) that addresses this challenge by empowering students with a culmination of their undergraduate research in a conference setting. The UC, conducted at the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), aims to broaden participation in the AI research community by recruiting students, particularly those from historically marginalized groups, supporting them with mentorship, advising, and networking as an accelerator toward graduate school, AI research, and their scientific identity. This paper presents our program design, inspired by a rich set of evidence-based practices, and a preliminary evaluation of the first years that points to the UC achieving many of its desired outcomes. We conclude by discussing insights to improve our program and expand to other computing communities.