There may be a shorter line at Dunkin’ Donuts and more parking spaces readily available, but campus is anything but quiet for the summer. In true innovator fashion, there’s no sleep ’til August here—take a look at a few of the activities and events that will keep the WPI community on its toes well into the summer months.
- Not Your Average Camps: WPI students aren’t the only ones who learn on our campus—through several academic and sports camps (which kick off next week), K-12 students do, too. Whether they’re trying their hand at video game design, making discoveries in the lab, or perfecting their swing, backstroke, or layup, these kids will have plenty of stories to tell about what they did during their summer vacations.
- Leading by Example: WPI will host 144 attendees from 26 colleges and universities around the world for the Institute on Project-Based Learning, where they’ll learn best practices of implementing WPI’s signature teaching method on their own campuses.
- Something for Everyone: Some students want to graduate early, make time in their schedules for co-ops, or just want to try something new—summer courses during E-Term allow them to do just that. With 110 courses ranging from chemical reactions and fluid mechanics to seminars and practicums in Lord of the Rings and puppetry, it’s safe to say there’s something for everyone in E-Term.
- Unidentified Flying Opportunities: Rising seniors from the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science along with eight WPI fellows will participate in the 2018 Summer Program in Aerospace Engineering (SPAcE), where, in true WPI fashion, they’ll immerse themselves in aerospace lab and research topics, all funded by NASA’s Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium. Houston, we have the furthest thing from a problem.
- Summer Soundtracks: Stop by the back patio of the Rubin Campus Center for the Summer Lunch Hour Concert Series, which features live music each week from 12 to 1pm. Enjoy performances by some of the area's most talented musicians, including many with WPI connections.
- Undergraduate Summer Research: At WPI, research opportunities aren’t just reserved for graduate students. Many undergraduates are spending their summers on campus working with faculty in state-of-the-art laboratories, taking invaluable steps toward changing the world before they even walk across the stage at Commencement.
- Gompei’s Getaway: The Rubin Campus Center sponsors a variety of trips and activities for the WPI community during the summer and vacation months, including an upcoming adventure to Martha’s Vineyard on July 28. We’ll save a seat for you.
- Academic Conferences: Many faculty members are using the summer months to plan or host professional conferences on campus for peers from around the world on everything from fluid dynamics to advanced biomanufacturing.
- Future Goats Crossing: Don’t be surprised if you bump into groups of prospective students braving the summer sun for tours of our lovely campus. The Office of Admissions welcomes prospective students to campus with information sessions and tours five days a week throughout the summer recess.
- Setting the Stage: International students and underrepresented or first-generation students participating in the Connections program will start arriving on campus a few days before the rest of the incoming class, setting the stage for a productive and memorable upcoming year.
- Here Before We Know It: Soon enough, the Class of 2022 will be arriving for New Student Orientation, and with them, the return of the WPI we know and love—the breakthroughs in the lab, the Frisbee games on the Quad, the perfect sentence crafted in the library, and the hammocks at the fountain. It’ll be here before we know it.
- By Allison Racicot
