Born largely out of the passion of one faculty member, the WPI Albania Project Center launched in 2013 when 12 students traveled more than 4,400 miles from Worcester to Albania’s capital city of Tirana to complete their Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP)—a project that requires teams to delve into a problem that matters to real people. Since then, the center has continued to gain in popularity and has doubled in size, now accepting 24 students each fall.
Although Albania is a poor, developing nation, it has one of Europe’s fastest growing economies, and WPI students have been involved in projects that help sustain and manage this impressive growth. Student projects have focused on topics as diverse as developing strategies to better market locally harvested honey, creating a water science fair for high school students, and exploring long-term care options for Albania’s burgeoning elderly population.
At the same time, the students who travel here have opportunities to learn about a vibrant part of the world—rich in history and culture—that they may not otherwise visit, and explore all that Albania has to offer, including spectacular mountains and river gorges, bustling cities, delicious food, and welcoming communities.
Learn more about six student projects that were completed at the Albania Project Center in the fall of 2016 and the impact these projects had on the local communities they served.
