For University students interested in majoring in science, it’s as easy as ready, set, go with the new SETGO program, a hands-on scientific research experience.

The Science, Engineering and Technology Gateway Ohio, or SETGO, is a program offering science, engineering, technology or mathematics majors a chance to gain knowledge and experience in their particular field of study.

SETGO is funded by the National Science Foundation. Thirty-eight University students participate and 24 Owens Community College students.

The goal of SETGO is to generate more science graduates, said Moira van Staaden, director of SETGO. The country is currently producing 200,000 graduates of science each year, but van Staaden said about 400,000 are really needed to maintain and replace jobs.

The SETGO program ensures more students will finish their degrees.

The program has three main components to benefit participants and help them get a job.

First is the Bridge Program at Owens Community College. The Bridge is a five-week program set up much like a normal college course in which students receive, in addition to all fees paid, Owens credit and a $1,000 stipend.

Anne Bullerjahn, professor of science at Owens, said the Bridge Program will prepare students for future courses in their fields.

‘The most valuable thing [about the Bridge program] is giving them a taste of what will be expected of them [in college math and science courses] in a friendly and, hopefully, fun setting,’ Bullerjahn said.

In addition, each student is paired with a professor in their field to mentor them during and after the program.

SETGO students then gain hands-on experience during a 10-week summer research program.

Bullerjahn said while students are given lots of work, they enjoy it.

The third part of the SETGO program is a monthly meeting for those in the science community. This part of the program can be very beneficial to students, van Staaden said.

‘It provides opportunities for them to meet faculty that they might want to do research with and to make those kinds of connections,’ she said.

Senior Katie Heilman, a participant in the SETGO program, said she wouldn’t trade her experience and she really enjoyed the program.

‘I learned so much… I feel I can actually use what I learned in the lab,’ Heilman said. ‘[The University professors] were all really great and they really encouraged me.’