A Sweet, Interdisciplinary Experience

Contrary to popular belief, the sweetest thing about Switzerland isn’t necessarily the chocolate—for WPI students, it’s the opportunity to collaborate with their peers on projects in a country that shares the same interdisciplinary nature as they do.

Having spent six years working and researching in Lausanne and Zurich, professor of physics and project center director Nancy Burnham had had her eye on Switzerland as an ideal project center location. She saw the potential opportunities Switzerland had to offer WPI students—and she was right. After a few stalled starts, the Switzerland Project Center took root in 2016.

The center is one of the few to host both Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQP) and Major Qualifying Projects (MQP). Burnham takes advantage of the professional network she’d fostered all those years ago to organize diverse projects ranging from enhancing visitor experiences at local museums and ensuring optimal organization of medical research data to raising awareness of emerging technologies and suggesting how to incorporate AI into computer science classes.  As part of ID2050, the preparatory class students take before embarking on their IQP experience, Burnham explains, students receive a selection of potential project descriptions and can share their preferences, ensuring that everyone finds something they’d like to work on.

“Lots of other universities have exchange programs, but WPI gives students the chance to embed themselves in Swiss organizations and work with local people,” says Burnham, adding that her favorite memories involve seeing the student groups’ final presentations at the end of the term. “They learn that even though some aspects of Swiss culture are different, people are people everywhere, and I think that it makes for a much better professional, cultural, and humanitarian experience.”

There were several reasons the Switzerland Project Center stood out to Cutter Beck ’25, and it wasn’t just for offering him the chance to immerse himself in a beautiful country (although he does recommend stopping by Lake Oeschinen if the opportunity presents itself). “I knew spending nearly two months in Switzerland would give me the opportunity to utilize the German language skills I learned during my humanities requirement,” he says, adding that as someone with German heritage, being in Zurich gave him the chance to explore aspects that he’d only heard about.

Beck and his team—which included fellow members of the Class of 2025 Lucca Chantre, Maxwell Jacobson, and Eric Whitty—worked with a researcher at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to develop a website that would allow users to quickly and easily access documents written by Standards Development Organizations, or SDOs.

“SDOs and the documents they develop help encourage ethical advancement in their specific fields,” Beck says, going on to explain that the database they created will allow future stakeholders to keep information up-to-date within the field of neurotechnology. “We learned a great deal about how the work we did would help scientists better communicate findings, and eventually help people with diseases and other medical conditions affecting the brain.”

While the 50+ project centers within WPI’s Global Projects Program have myriad specialties and experiences to offer, the main thing students can expect wherever they go is an invaluable experience that helps them grow as researchers, as professionals, and as people. For Beck, his time in Switzerland helped him to do just that. “I believe that interacting with as many people as possible from as many backgrounds as possible makes you a more informed and kinder global citizen,” he explains. “Being in a place I had never been to before allowed me to be part of other people’s routines and, in turn, put into practice that belief I’ve held for so long.”