VOLUME 13, NO. 3     June 2001

Implementing EPiC changes in engineering education

Massachusetts recently became the first state to require that engineering be taught at all grade levels in the public schools. In December the State Board of Education approved revised science and technology curriculum guidelines designed to enable all students to see the relevance of science, mathematics and technology to today’s world and, ultimately, to ease the critical need for engineers within the commonwealth, the nation and the world.

WPI is helping Worcester shape its vision for the program model through the Engineering Pipeline Collaborative (EPiC), a coalition of colleges, universities and businesses established with a start-up grant from the University of Massachusetts/Raytheon K-16 Engineering Collaborative and a "career majors" grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education. In addition to WPI, UMass and the DOE, EPiC members include Doherty Memorial High School, Forest Grove Middle School, Quinsigamond Community College, Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science, Worcester State College, Allegro Microsystems and Saint Gobain/Norton Company.

WPI administrators and faculty are providing curricular and technical support for new and future engineering courses at nearby Doherty High. Last fall a student team working out of WPI’s new Worcester Community Project Center completed an Interactive Qualifying Project in which they helped develop three modules for a pilot pre-engineering program for Doherty 10th graders (see page 9).

"WPI students, faculty and graduates have much to contribute to this important initiative," says Lance Schachterle, assistant provost for academic affairs and WPI’s representative on EPiC’s board. "For the first time, public school students, locally and statewide, will begin to understand the similarities and differences between science, engineering and technology to help them make informed career choices."