Our Work

With the sudden eruption of the coronavirus pandemic, universities across the country have had to pivot to deliver academic content in the distance environment. WPI faced a unique challenge in that each term a large proportion of the junior class completes an immersive, off-campus project-based learning experience, the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP). The IQP allows students to address an important challenge that lies at the interaction of society, technology and the environment.

WPI has an extraordinary opportunity to leverage our student project sites around the world to build a platform for sharing voices and perspectives on meaningful topics. Recording climate change stories engages students with communities on a topic of universal urgency, and in ways that transcend common barriers. The experiences of ordinary people on the ground have not always been solicited in planning for adaptation strategies or in other official narratives and metrics about climate change.

Visiting Artists, Writers, and Creatives Share Their Knowledge with the WPI Community

WPI students have helped improve the lives of women and girls for over more than 20 years in 14 countries through 90+ Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQPs). IQPs allow students to work in interdisciplinary teams to solve a problem or provide for a need at the crossroads of science and society. The Global Lab showcases and conducts research on the extensive array of IQP projects that have benefitted female community members at project centers. This initiative is generously supported by the Women’s Impact Network at WPI.