CLIAMS:CLAIMS
We claim:
1. 1. A system and process for offering a unique research mentorship module to school and college students by research mentor, with four major steps comprising,
a) the first step of topic identification, wherein, the research mentor guides the student to understand their field of interest by giving them an overview of the field and enables the student to choose a particular topic within his/her field of interest,
b) the second step of the literature survey step, wherein, the research mentor guides the student to review and understand their field of interest in depth by surveying journal papers, conference papers, videos, newspaper and magazine articles,
c) the third step of writing research summaries, wherein, the research mentor guides the student to review and understand their field of interest in depth by surveying journal papers, conference papers, videos, newspaper and magazine articles,
d) the fourth and final step of full research paper writing stage, wherein, the students are guided by their research mentors to write a logical and error free conference or journal review paper.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein the student and the research mentor meet atleast twice on a weekly basis.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein the student can be mentored online through the proprietary software of Research Mentorship Module, if the student is unable to meet the research mentor in person.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 2, wherein, the progress of the student is monitored through a milestone tracker feature which is inbuilt into the proprietary software as is illustrated in figure 2.

5. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein, research mentorship program is open to school students from grade 9 to grade 12 and undergraduate college students (pursuing bachelors degree).

6. The system and process of claim 1 wherein the research mentors hold Master of Science, Ph.d. or Master of Business Administration degrees and are trained through a rigorous three module program for a period of two months.

Senthil Kumar B
(Agent for the applicant)
IN/PA-1549
,TagSPECI:
FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

Complete Specification
(See section 10 and rule 13)

1.Title of the Invention :

RESEARCH MENTORING PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE STUDENTS

2. Applicant Name : ACCENDERE KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED

Nationality : Indian

Address : 144/15, Kailash Colony, Anna Nagar West,
Chennai 600 101

3. Preamble to the Description :

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

DESCRIPTION
Field of the Invention:
[0001] The present invention is a high throughput process for offering research mentorship to school and college students, comprising of four major steps; supported by proprietary software – Accendere Milestone tracker.
Background of the Invention:
[0002] Research in the sciences, engineering, medicine, commerce, law, humanities and other academic fields have been mostly been restricted to academic environments such as universities, research institutions and industrial research labs.
[0003] Independent research activities among the general public is almost negligible. While citizen research is considered to be of insignificant value and often overlooked, knowledge of the research methodologies and processes is an important factor of the well being of the general public.
[0004] Research in publically funded universities often suffer from bias towards “hot” or trending research topics depending on the science policy makers and prominent researchers. A case in point is the vast corpus available for funding of cancer research initiatives as opposed to the trickle of funds for basic nutrition research. Researchers at publically funded universities and institutions inadvertently fall to the bias of focusing on research in popular topics; whose popularity waxes and wanes in any given decade. Industrial research laboratories such as the famous Bell laboratories have made huge contributions to science and technology which have propelled our society to greater heights.
[0005] However, profits being the main concern of any company in a capitalist economy, research by industrial entities can be biased and may lead to the production of products and technologies that may prove harmful to the human race. Cases such as genetically modified seeds, trans-fats in food products have all transpired due to greed by large corporations.
[0006] In light of these issues, it is of the utmost need that the general public has thorough understanding of research and its methodologies; not only in sciences but other academic fields as well. It is necessary to inculcate an interest in research and its methodologies in children – one of the world’s largest demographics. In a world which is moving to greater complexity every day, this knowledge is not optional but downright indispensable.
[0007] Schools and universities have traditionally been the cradles of civilization, passing on knowledge and skills to every generation of the human race. However, learning has been replaced by rote learning and memorization, leading to producing high school and college graduates who are cognizant of facts but lack logical rational thinking and also rank low on skills and innovative thinking. In addition, children often lament that they are unable to clearly choose a particular career or profession, due to a general lack of exposure. They are missing a platform which enables them to research and dive into the specifics of a particular field or profession. This understanding will end their paralysis and confidently enter an area of their choice. An overhaul of the education system in the short term is impossible due to a variety of reasons from lack of finances to lack of political will. These deficiencies in the educational system can only be closed through a disruptive process.
[0008] While there are a variety of online mentoring systems and programs, offering feedback and encouragement; there is no process-oriented research mentoring methodology that has been listed. These systems may offer value but are limited in their scope as they do not offer a medium for students to explore various topics and fields. These experiences are crucial for the molding and transformation of a student.
[0009] A variety of known methods and systems are present for offering an on-line based mentoring to participants. A computer based method for bi-directionally matching a protégé and a mentor among participants in an on-line environment has been described in US. Pat. Application No. 20060031087 by Fox. The method includes registering the protégé so that he or she can be uniquely identified within the on-line environment. Detailed protégé and mentor profiles are available on the platform and are used by an algorithm to find a perfect match.

[0009] US. Pat. Application No. 20060253572 by Gomez discloses a platform that allows the complete development and management of an on-line mentoring program that includes a hierarchical management system and a relational database.

[0010] US. Pat. Application No. 6,062,862 by Koskinen discloses a user method and system for accessing mentor experience information in a knowledge-based user educational guidance system to transfer mentor experience information to financial services. The method contains a graphical interface to efficiently navigate information of the mentoring process.

[0011] US. Pat. Application No. 20110306029 by Flavian Prince discloses a system for offering an online based peer mentoring program which is sponsored by atleast one school and operated by atleast one student mentor and one student apprentice. It comprises a plurality of web training modules having information related to academic and social curriculum.
Summary:
[0012] The present invention is a high throughput system and software for offering research mentorship to school and undergraduate college students; both through off-line and on-line based modules. The outcome of the research mentorship is the publication of conference and journal review papers.
[0013] Research mentors and science communicators with expertise in relevant areas will engage with students from various disciplines such as the sciences, engineering, medicine, law and commerce.
[0014] The research mentorship will be disseminated through a unique apprenticeship module consisting of four major steps
[0015] The steps comprise topic identification, literature survey, writing research summaries and full paper writing.
[0016] The research mentoring process may be conducted both online and offline depending on the logistics and the convenience of the student. The progress of the student can be tracked online through the Milestone tracker software by all the stakeholders.
Brief Description of the Figures
[0017] Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the system and process for offering both online and offline based research mentorship of school students and college students; comprising of four major steps, supported by the proprietary milestone tracker software
Reference Numerals
10 Registration of the student
12 Counseling for field identification
14 Topic Identification
16 Literature survey on topic
18 Concept Paper or Identification of resource and planning
20 Extended Literature review or Executing Experiment
22 Data Analysis
24 Writing the document i.e. journal review paper or conference paper
26 Content editing
28 Communicating to journal or conference
30 Conference and Presentation / Review and Acceptance
Detailed Description
[0018] Referring to the figure 1, a preferred embodiment illustrates the unique research mentorship module which can be delivered both off-line and on-line. The research mentorship module primarily consists of four major processes – topic identification within field of interest 14, literature survey 16, writing research summaries of journal papers or data analysis 22 and writing the full conference paper or the journal review paper 24.
[0019] Referring to the illustration, the entire process of mentoring the school students and undergraduate college students 10 - 32 will be undertaken by the research mentor either offline or online.
[0020] Referring to figure 1, after the registration 10 is concluded, the student will be given a choice to the research mentor will spend time with the student to understand the aptitudes and interests of the student. This is the counseling session for the identification of the topic 12. This will enable the student to choose a particular topic from his/her area of interest 14.
[0021] An appropriate topic will be chosen and the research mentor will guide the student to review the current status of the field from a variety of sources including journal articles, conference proceedings, documentaries, news and magazine articles. This step of the process is known as the literature survey 16. The research mentor will teach the student to think rationally and logically and help him to sift through the vast amounts of information to understand the progress that has been made in a particular topic and more importantly, the research mentor helps the student to see and realize the gaps and challenges that need to be overcome in a particular topic. This feedback is invaluable and the research mentorship process not only helps students learn to spot topics ripe for innovation and disruption but also helps them in the long run in life by inculcating critical logical and rational thinking abilities.
[0022] After the initial literature review process is done 16, a decision is taken whether to perform experiments or to prepare a concept paper or review paper 18. The concept paper or the review paper is written after extended literature survey 20 followed by data analysis 22. The final stage before communicating a paper to a journal or conference 28 is the content editing 26 which may be performed by the research mentor or professional content editing service team, following which the paper is published in a journal or accepted in a conference after acceptance 30.
[0023] The next step of the process involves the writing of the research summaries of the various sources of information. This step will enable the student to get all the pieces of the big picture together, and enable the student to prepare the article for publication in the conference or journal.
Figure 2: The screen of the software Accendere Milestone tracker.
The preparatory software that is used for tracking the research activity specific for every user right from enrollment to paper acceptance can be tracked using this software.

Description of Drawings
Fig. 1 : Diagrammatic representation of the system and process for offering both online and offline based research mentorship
Fig. 2 : Screen of the software Accendere Milestone tracker


Senthil Kumar B
Agent for the applicant
IN/PA-1549