Project Immersion
It happens throughout the year, at 50+ project centers, across six continents. This is the IQP (Interactive Qualifying Project). Often called a life-changing experience by WPI students, the IQP immerses students in a new culture where they delve into a problem that matters to real people.
Whether traveling across the city or across the ocean, it’s the experience that changes students—and their world. The journey begins sophomore year, but the profound impact lasts a lifetime.
Grow Personally
The IQP gives students opportunities to work with new levels of independence and step out of their comfort zones—experiences that enable them to gain self-confidence and maturity. Students also report that their project work helps them become more adaptable, develop stronger personal characters, enjoy deeper connections with peers and overall enrich their lives in non-academic ways.
Develop Professionally
Through the IQP, students gain invaluable skills and experiences that set them up for success in future academic and professional roles. They become better collaborators, critical thinkers, communicators, problem solvers, and leaders. Just as important, they are ready to hit the ground running and jump in to tackle new challenges and find solutions to open-ended problems.
Gain New World Perspectives
Students leave their IQP experiences viewing the world differently than when they began. By immersing themselves in the experience, many expand their worldviews, awareness of global issues, and understanding of other cultures. They also have new appreciation for challenges faced by communities around the world and better understanding of their own roles as global citizens and how their decisions impact others.
Have a Positive Impact in Communities Around the Globe
From a high school in Albania to a national park in Maine, some of the most important beneficiaries of IQPs are the communities in which students work. Student teams provide sponsors with real solutions to critical problems they don’t have the resources to tackle on their own, often resulting in long-lasting impacts.
Ignite Your Passion to Make a Difference
After seeing firsthand how they can make a real impact, students are ready to use their skills and knowledge to change the world. With that passion comes an understanding of the human factors that play a role in problem solving and the connections between technology and society, as students are prepared and eager to design real solutions for real people.
