President Wang celebrates with students at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Global Projects Program
On April 15, WPI commemorated an important milestone—50 years of global projects! Over the past five decades, we've built bridges across continents, fostered meaningful connections, and made a lasting impact on communities around the world through our distinctive Global Projects Program. The program provides opportunities for students to travel off-campus to conduct term-length projects that are required for graduation.
As we celebrated this academic year’s 50th anniversary of our first project center in Washington, DC with faculty, students, staff and alumni in the Rubin Campus Center Odeum, we were fortunate to hear from our distinguished leaders who recognize the significance of this transformative educational experience. President Grace Wang and U.S. Representative Jim McGovern reiterated the profound impact global learning experiences have on our students.
“WPI had the foresight to create a program that said education isn't confined to a lecture hall. That true learning happens out in the world side by side with regular people in places that are unfamiliar facing problems are real,” said McGovern. “WPI students are entering the workforce with practical knowledge, a global perspective, and a proven ability to lead across cultures and disciplines. That gives them an edge.”
We heard from Pamela Lynch, ’05 about her Global Projects Program experience in Thailand and how she carried the guiding principles from that student project throughout her career in renewable and sustainable energy. And our leadership in The Global School reiterated the gratitude we feel for our community who plays an important part in a campus program that continues to thrive with your contributions great and small.
“What happens in these project centers is so powerful both for the faculty who advise the projects and the students,” said Kent Rissmiller, associate dean of The Global School. “This is just a tremendous developmental learning opportunity that does transform lives.”
As we look to the future, we must continue to inspire, innovate, and collaborate, making the world a better place for generations to come. That innovation for the future is already underway. “The Global Projects Program helps our students understand how to use their STEM education ethically and responsibly. With the emerging power of artificial intelligence, this kind of learning is more important than ever because all technology only exists in a human context,” said Mimi Sheller, dean of The Global School. “As we look towards the future, we are exploring new initiatives that will incorporate responsible AI into student projects, working closely with sponsors around the world, for example, to see how teams can use technology in new ways that help us bridge language differences or respect inherent cultural differences and overcome the biases that might exist in the algorithms and some of the new technologies.”
Thank you for supporting, joining, and celebrating with us and getting excited for what the next 50 years will bring!
WPI Celebrates 50 years!
