Lumiere: How Student Research is Inspiring The Next Generation

Among the thousands of flustered students, stressed parents and vital SAT scores lies a new, emerging trend: student research. 

Created as a tool to inspire and inform students about the benefits of research, the concept has been developed to foster an appreciation for academia beyond the classroom. As Stephen Turban, founder of Lumiere, a firm helping high-school students with their research endeavours, explains: “At the centre of our work is a goal, a mission to develop curiosity, intellectual vitality, critical thinking and time-management among our students.”

Research has been integral to his life. As he describes: “Research has been ingrained in my upbringing and I’d say even my life. My father was a professor so I was always intrigued by processes of research…I want to inspire this same drive among the current crop of high schoolers.” 

Above all, acquainting students with research processes can help further student interest in a particular field while preparing them for college and university. Oftentimes, much of the process requires mentorship and support. In our talk, Steven touched upon this, explaining: “When I was at Harvard Business School (I’m now a PhD student!), I had a mentor named David Garvin…he was like a father figure to me. I knew all of his family and we would meet every week for a couple of hours to talk about life. Working alongside him really shaped my research experience. At Lumiere, I try to replicate the same feeling – that’s why we have a 1 on 1 mentorship program.”

The personality and attitude of the mentor is key to Stephen. As he put it: “We’re always looking for new mentors. I’d say the most important consideration would be the mentor’s approach to academia – we hope to have mentors who are supportive but that can simultaneously manage a project well.”

Ultimately, Stephen sees a bright future for student research: “I don’t see a downside to research. It prepares high schoolers for college, enables them to develop worthwhile skills like responsibility, critical thinking and academic writing. At the same time, there’s no limit to what type of research is conducted…we’ve had people research across all types of different disciplines. I think it can only become more popular.”

Addressing concerns about research’s lack of creativity and interactivity, Stephen touched upon the presentational facets to the process: “Many of our students present at our symposium, a chance for them to share their research with their supportive peers. Research is adaptive; it truly can be whatever you’d like it to be.”

Looking ahead, Stephen hopes for Lumiere to become even more of a trusted initiative in the industry: “The sky’s the limit. I hope in the future Lumiere can become a proper adjudicator of student work…think of the traditional examination boards but modernized. Other than that, we hope to continue to scale our impact even more globally, expanding our financial aid packages further.”

Whatever lies ahead for Lumiere and Stephen, one thing is clear: student research is becoming more popular and for all the right reasons.

Stephen Turban is a PhD student at Harvard University and is a co-founder of Lumiere. You can view his initiative’s website here.