South Africa Project Center

Since 2007, over 200 students have conducted over 50 projects with various local government and nongovernment organizations in the Cape Town Business District and surrounding neighborhoods. These projects have covered a diverse array of topics in the areas of alternative energy; early childhood development; infrastructure and housing development in informal settlements; recycling and waste management; gardening, agriculture and food safety; communication, culture, recreation and art.

These projects may not appear appropriate for budding engineers and scientists from WPI. Indeed, they are specifically designed to push students beyond their comfort zone and to challenge them to think about technical problems in their social, cultural, and political contexts. The projects use social science methods to address issues at the nexus of science, technology, and society.

All the projects and the entire student experience in Cape Town, offer wonderful, real-world opportunities for WPI students and provide our project hosts with valuable data and perspectives on pressing problems in and around the metropolis.

We hope you will enjoy exploring these pages and look forward to hearing from you.