Eleven-year experience implementing a dental undergraduate research program in a prestigious dental school in China: lessons learned and future prospects.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the lessons learned from implementing a dental undergraduate research program over the past eleven years and identify key elements to guarantee the success of dental undergraduate research in the future. MATERIAL AND METHODS An overview of 80 research projects from 2007 to 2017 was provided, consisting of 239 participating undergraduates and 47 faculty advisors. Students' academic performance was compared between participating and non-participating undergraduates. An anonymous questionnaire was designed and distributed to participants, with VAS satisfaction assessment, Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Questions focused on overall satisfaction, motivation, benefits to student career development, and essential elements for the dental undergraduate research program in the future. RESULTS The undergraduate participants had significantly better scores of GPAs (3.41 vs 3.21; p < 0.0001), obtained more awards on the honor rolls (0.53 vs 0.30; p = 0.0171) and published more peer-reviewed articles (1.62 vs 1.31; p = 0.0253) than non-participants. Seventy-two undergraduates (75.79%) and thirty-eight advisors (80.85%) responded to the questionnaire. The overall satisfaction was scored as 78.18/100 and 72.36/100 among advisors and students, respectively. Interest was considered the best motivation for participation by students (3.81/5.00) and advisors (4.00/5.00). The research program was beneficial to students' overall career development. Essential roles played by the dental school, faculty and undergraduates were suggested to improve the research environment. CONCLUSION The dental undergraduate research program has positive effects on students' academic performance. The support of the dental school, the engagement of qualified faculty, the interest and autonomy of students, and camaraderie among these three key elements are essential for the research program in the future.