A World of Opportunity:
Preparing Students for Life!
Natalie A. Mello
Director of Global Operations,
Interdisciplinary and
Global Studies
Division
WPI sends more engineering students
abroad than any university in the US.
Students & faculty live on
site for 2 months while
solving open ended
problems that benefit the
local community.
Nancy, France…San José, Costa Rica…San Juan, Puerto Rico…Venice, Italy…
Windhoek, Namibia…Wuhan, PRC
Opportunities to fulfill degree required projects throughout the world.
Growth of the Global Perspective
Program
600
500
400
300
200
100
06
/0
7
04
/0
5
02
/0
3
00
/0
1
98
/9
9
96
/9
7
94
/9
5
92
/9
3
90
/9
1
88
/8
9
86
/8
7
84
/8
5
82
/8
3
80
/8
1
78
/7
9
76
/7
7
0
WPI has sent over 6000 students off-campus since 1974
Percentage of graduates with an off-campus experience
80%
2005
2003
70%
2002
2001
60%
2004
2000
50%
40%
1998 1999
30%
20%
10%
0%
Year of Graduation
* projected
2007*
2006
So how does WPI manage to do
this?
• WPI offers opportunities to fulfill degree
requirements elsewhere in the world
• Unique curriculum and term system
• Established & Competitive Recruiting Cycles
• Established Risk Management
• Commitment to Student Centered Experience
At WPI, there are 3 degree required
projects:
The project in Humanities
and Arts
→
Suff - Completed in
the 1st 2 years
At WPI, there are 3 degree required
projects:
→
Suff - Completed in
the 1st 2 years
The Interdisciplinary Project →
(not related to the major)
IQP - Completed in
the 3rd year
The project in Humanities
and Arts
At WPI, there are 3 degree required
projects:
→
Suff - Completed in
the 1st 2 years
The Interdisciplinary Project →
(not related to the major)
IQP - Completed in
the 3rd year
The Discipline Specific,
→
Technical Project (definitely
related to the Major)
MQP - Completed in
the 4th year
The project in Humanities
and Arts
Where do these
opportunities exist?
Projects in the Humanities & Arts
LONDON, United Kingdom
• History, Drama, Music or Literature
MADRID, Spain
• Spanish Language, Culture or Literature
DARMSTADT, Germany
• German Language, Culture or Literature
IFRANE, Morocco – New site!
• Islamic History & Culture Studies
Interdisciplinary Projects
Bangkok,
Thailand
Boston, Mass.
Cape Town, SA
Copenhagen,
Denmark
Hong Kong,
PRC
London, UK
Melbourne,
Australia
San José,
Costa Rica
San Juan,
Puerto Rico
Venice, Italy
Worcester,
Mass.
Washington,
DC
Windhoek,
Namibia
Technical Projects
• Budapest, Hungary (cs)
• Gallo Wineries, CA
(cme,me)
• Kyoto, Japan (cs,imgd)
• Limerick, Ireland (ece)
• MIT Lincoln Labs
(ece,cs,ma,me,ph)
• Nancy, France
(cm,cbc,che)
• Silicon Valley, CA (cs,ece)
• Venice, Italy (cs)
• Wall Street, & London
(cs,ma,mg,ie,mge)
• Wuhan, PRC (me,mfe)
(major dependent)
Do projects happen elsewhere?
Individually Sponsored Residential Projects
Work with a faculty advisor to complete the process
Wuhan, China → PC E07
NSF Station, Antarctica
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Turks & Caicos
Gothenberg, Sweden
Tortolla, BVI
Modesto, CA → PC C06
Sydney, Australia
Rome, Italy
St. Croix, USVI
Greenwich, UK
Istanbul, Turkey
Kyoto, Japan → PC A08
Nancy, France → PC C05
How do these projects
fit into such a tight
schedule?
Typical WPI Student’s Academic Year
1 semester = 2 terms
6 courses / semester
1 term = 7 weeks
3 courses / term
A Term
Intro Art History
B Term
C Term
Intro Statics
Project
in
Bangkok
Calc IV
Differ. Equations
Gen. Physics
Soc.Sci. Methods
Proposal
Project = 3 courses
D Term
Anatomy
Principles of EE
Fluid Mechanics
General Applications
Due
Site Specific Info
Sessions
Sufficiency
Applications Due
IQP & Sufficiency Site
Specific Applications
Due
Sign up for interviews
via the web
Interview with
Faculty Center
Directors
Decision Letters
Mailed Home
January
Recruiting typically occurs a year in advance
Can WPI offer a
secure yet
academically valuable
experience?
Center
Director
Risk
Management
Team
Support Services
Student
Experience
Local
Coordinator
Sponsor
Liaison
Project
Preparation
Instructor
Resident
Faculty
Advisors
Orientation and
Re-Entry
Facilitator
Why does WPI do all
this?
Educational Outcomes Realized by
a Global Experience
•
•
•
•
Solving real-world, open-ended problems
Working in teams
Improving written & verbal communication
Making connections between
– Classroom and experiential learning
– Impact of decisions of the profession on culture and
community
– Impact of culture and community on decisions of the
profession
• Professional and personal growth
Who in the world
notices?
WPI: One of Ten Institutions Honored for Exemplary
Internationalization, 2002-2003
Association of American Colleges and Universities recognized
WPI as one of its sixteen Leadership Institutions, for “its vision
and program as an exemplary way of infusing liberal and global
studies into pre-professional education.”
Theodore M. Hesburgh Certificate of
Excellence, 2003 for “The WPI Global
Perspective Program”
The Andrew Heiskell Awards For Innovation
In International Education 2003-2004
Turning the Tide
by J.Harriss
Venice has defied the onslaught of the sea for centuries. But
as water levels rise and foundations erode, Venetians must
seek out new ways to save the city's fabled artworks and
architectural treasures…
…There's also a plan to reduce the effects of moto ondoso,
thanks in part to studies by the Massachusetts-based
Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Venice Project Center…
WPI’s Fabio Carrera, Founder and
Center Director of the Venice Project
Center featured in
Venice Under Siege,
National Geographic Channel’s Out
There television show, aired May 2002
WPI student team featured in
Italy’s Endangered Art
By Erla Zwingle,
Photographs by O. Louis Mazzatenta
National Geographic Magazine, August 1999
WPI…All Around the World,
Preparing Students for Life!
Kate Soojian, Class of 2008
Biomedical Engineering Major
Costa Rica, E06, IQP sponsored by Intel