Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been awarded a 2023 Institute of International Education (IIE) Andrew Heiskell Award in the category of student mobility and exchange for its ongoing efforts to expand access to the university’s Global Projects Program.
The award promotes and honors outstanding initiatives in international higher education by recognizing innovative and successful programs in several categories. It is named after Andrew Heiskell, a former chairman of Time Inc., member of the Executive Committee of IIE’s Board of Trustees, a renowned international and cultural philanthropist and a longtime supporter of international education.
WPI received the award for its Global Projects Program and Global Projects for All initiative. A signature component of WPI’s project-based learning model, the Global Projects Program facilitates student travel to more than 50 project centers across the USA and in 30 countries around the world.
“The IIE Heiskell award serves as recognition that WPI’s renowned approach to global project-based learning remains the gold standard in international experiential education, and we continue to innovate and expand access,” said Mimi Sheller, inaugural dean of The Global School.
WPI’s project-based learning approach that blends theory and practice to confront the world’s challenges includes the Interactive Qualifying Project, or IQP, and the Major Qualifying Project, or MQP. Juniors at WPI participate in the IQP, a nine-credit-hour requirement that involves students working in teams, with students not in their major, to tackle an issue that relates science, engineering, and technology to society. Seniors take on the MQP, a team-based, professional-level design or research experience. Both IQPs and MQPs can be completed through the Global Projects Program.
