In conjunction with the Navigating the New Arctic Community Office (NNA-CO) Education & Outreach team, the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation supports an accessible annual research experience for undergraduates designed to connect students from Alaska with community-informed Arctic research. The Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) undergraduate research experience has traditionally been offered as a virtual program, spanning across multiple semesters in the first year and a single semester in second. Based on feedback and lessons learned from the past two years, the 2025 NNA undergraduate research experience was reformatted into a short, intensive, hybrid program. During March 2025, a cohort of 6 students participated in a 2-day virtual workshop, in which they explored Western and Indigenous ways of knowing via guest speakers, and a week-long Arctic-themed conference in Boulder, Colorado. During Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW), students connected with researchers in the Arctic and completed short research projects, analyzing co-produced data (Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub, Project Jukebox), on community and environmental change. From this newly implemented hybrid format, students highlighted in-person connections made during ASSW, hands-on experience with their research, and a collaborative environment. We also found that the program led to an increase in students' confidence in conducting research, collaborating, understanding of community-informed research, and understanding of challenges that communities face in the changing Arctic.