Q&A with Kent Rissmiller and Kathleen Head as the Global Projects Program turns 50

Kent Rissmiller is the associate dean of The Global School and Kathleen Head is director of the Global Experience Office.

KR: When the WPI Plan was adopted in 1970 and the academic calendar was reconfigured into seven-week terms, the Interactive Qualifying Project and Major Qualifying Project were designed to be a full load, or three courses, for one term. In theory, without other courses to take, students could spend a term nearly anywhere while completing a project. And that was intentional. The Plan’s authors expected students to “learn by doing” in real workplaces.  

In 1974, some of the co-authors of the Plan, professors Frank Lutz and Jim Demetry, started calling around to alumni in the Washington, D.C., area looking for project sponsors. That year, C. Marshall Dann ’35 had been named commissioner of patents by President Nixon, which is why the Patent Office was one of our first sponsors. (Dann later served as a trustee for WPI.) Student interest in doing IQPs at the Washington Project Center grew so much that the program was expanded to three terms a year. That success was not replicated in other locations until the late 1980s, when WPI opened project centers in London, Venice, and Bangkok.

What has allowed the program to grow to more than 50 project centers?

KH: WPI values the experience and learning outcomes associated with global projects, which promote global competency at the intersection of science, technology, and society. For decades, the WPI Plan has emphasized the importance of project work in the undergraduate curriculum. The global component has become integral to the undergraduate experience and is a signature program in which WPI believes all students should take part. 

To make that happen, in 2017 the university committed to the Global Projects for All initiative to expand the number of global projects available to students and to lessen financial barriers that prevent participation. This became a core initiative of the 2015–18 strategic plan to elevate the impact of a WPI education. It marshalled financial and human resources to significantly expand student and faculty participation in the Global Projects Program (GPP) by developing new project centers and increasing the frequency with which programs are offered at existing centers. Participation in the GPP has soared in the last five years, with approximately 85 percent of all undergraduates traveling off campus for one (or more) projects.

Can you explain how project topics are selected? 

KR: Each project center has a director or co-directors who are responsible for cultivating project sponsors. Sometimes, this work is guided by the directors’ research or personal interests. For example, our director in London, Dominic Golding, worked for years in museums, so many of our London projects are hosted by museums. Often the projects address local concerns distinctive to the location. In Venice, the health of the city as it faces threats from flooding and overtourism has been the focus of projects. In Paraguay, the projects have supported science and technology learning in conjunction with an agricultural school. In the rainforests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, projects focus on sustainability, biodiversity, and community needs. In every instance, the directors are negotiating with sponsors to identify projects that are important to them and that meet our goals for research that engages students on a topic at the intersection of science, technology, and societal need.

What might people be surprised to learn about the program?

KH: The GPP involves teams of students in rigorous research and global travel opportunities, but it is not a selective or honors program. The opportunity is open to all students in good standing. With so much student interest, we worked with MQP and grad students (and their advisors) to develop an algorithmic matching tool, called the GOAT (Global Opportunities Allocation Tool), to place students at project centers based on their interests. The algorithm combines input from students and project center directors to calculate mutual compatibility and uses optimal matching techniques to generate IQP placements. 

KR: Just as the program is open to all juniors, it is open to faculty from across the campus. Faculty from all four schools and every department are encouraged to consider off-campus advising as a part of their WPI experience. We think that opportunity helps us to recruit excellent, student-centered teachers and researchers to WPI.

What will the future bring? 

KH: We remain steadfast in our commitment to continuously improve and expand access to the GPP, ensuring our work aligns with WPI’s mission to transform lives and turn knowledge into action to confront global challenges. Regardless of location or project, students are immersed in local cultures, and this work supports our learning objectives for intercultural competency and global learning.  

KR: To continue to support this program at this scale, we must closely monitor the cost of participation and engage with alumni and friends to raise funds to support our students. We are also diligent in protecting the health and safety of our traveling students and faculty and have adapted our programs in response to global risks. At the same time, we continue to seek diverse opportunities across the globe, while recognizing that some locations are in greater demand than others.  

Why is this program such a distinctive part of a WPI education? 

KH: For over 50 years, WPI has taken a uniquely project-based approach to undergraduate STEM education and global learning. Through the GPP, students confront, attempt to understand, and navigate the complex social and cultural contexts in which technology and society intersect. This program reflects WPI’s quest to prepare all students to become more well-rounded and globally aware leaders so they can help to address the world’s pressing challenges. In fact, student learning in the GPP has been powerfully demonstrated in two studies of alumni, and no other US university has been able to duplicate this success.