The WPI global perspective program: preparing for assessment and ABET 2000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (USA) has been practicing innovative, project-based technological education for over 25 years. WPI requires all undergraduates to complete a series of projects, including one in which they examine how science or technology interacts with societal structures and values. Because of its commitment to a global perspective, the university offers its students opportunities to complete this unique degree requirement at locations around the world. WPI operates ten international project programs where students, with resident faculty advisors, live and work full time solving real-world problems for public and private agencies and organizations. WPI sends more engineering and science students overseas for experiential learning than any other US college or university; during the 1998-99 academic year, approximately 350 WPI students-including over half of the junior class-will travel to a global project site to complete one of these interdisciplinary projects. In this paper, the authors describe WPI's Global Perspective Program, and discuss how the educational objectives of project-based learning are met through this unique program. They discuss some benefits of the program, which include addressing the new criteria set forth by ABET 2000, internationalization of the faculty, student body and curriculum, and an enhanced global perspective on campus. An outline of current developments within WPI's Global Perspective Program including assessment initiatives, enhancement of student preparation, faculty development programs, student participation in program growth and marketing, and student re-entry programs are also described.