MOUNTAIN LAKES — Jacqueline Edwards, a member of the class of 2025 majoring in Aerospace Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), was a student team member who recently completed an intense research project titled Assessing the Feasibility of WAAM for Ship Repair.
At WPI, all undergraduates must complete a research-driven, professional-level project that applies science and technology that addresses an important societal need or issue. About two-thirds of students complete a project at one of the university’s 50-plus off-campus project centers worldwide. A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI is that the project-based curriculum allows students to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to develop thoughtful solutions to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives and make a difference before they graduate.
“The WPI project-based curriculum’s focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge and to solve problems,” said Professor Kent Rissmiller, professor of Integrative& Global Studies and associate dean of The Global School. “Students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture, from how people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat – all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today’s global marketplace. They also learn the meaning and magic of teamwork; make a real and meaningful difference in their host community; and gain a competitive edge for any resume, graduate, or professional school application.”
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers worldwide. WPI offers over 70 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, social sciences, humanities, and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology, robotics and the Internet of things, advanced materials and manufacturing, cyber, data, and security systems, learning science, and more. For more information, click here.