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Sharing Educational Opportunities To Build a Brighter Future

mlumsden — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Kerry Xiao 鈥?6 and Colin Cotton 鈥?6 know they鈥檙e lucky: Growing up, they had adults around them who offered them life-changing opportunities, and last summer the duo worked to do the same for middle schoolers in their hometown of Wilmington, Del.

The two juniors ran a three-week workshop introducing underserved youth to a variety of STEM topics, including robotics, biology, and computer science. Their work was funded by Projects for Peace, a not-for-credit program that awards college students $10,000 to create and execute a project promoting peace and understanding anywhere in the world.

Growing up in Delaware鈥檚 most violent city was the catalyst for their project: When Cotton and Xiao were in middle school, teens were more likely to get shot in Wilmington than in any other city in the United States and in 2022 their hometown had a higher per capita crime rate than 96 percent of U.S. cities.

Now the two believe that educational opportunities can be a strong antidote to violence.

During their workshop, held at Wilmington鈥檚 Bellevue Community Center, they guided the 12 participants to explore new ideas, equipment, and academic experiences鈥攁ll with the goal of sparking interests that might help keep students engaged in school long-term. They were less concerned with teaching specific skills than diversifying students鈥?educational exposure.

鈥淲e wanted them to see that if they liked any of the things they did in our workshop, they can focus on these classes in high school and major in this field in college, and they could end up with a career they would like,鈥?says Cotton, who is majoring in robotics engineering.

鈥淔or me, this was personal because in middle school I was in the same shoes as these kids,鈥?Xiao says, remembering that every day after school he would help out at the Chinese restaurant where his parents worked. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what there was out in the world to do.鈥?lt;/p>

Everything changed for Xiao in seventh grade, when a teacher encouraged him to join the school鈥檚 robotics team. Now he鈥檚 double majoring in robotics engineering and electrical engineering and has served as vice president of WPI鈥檚 Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers chapter.

鈥淭he fact that someone noticed me and believed that I could be good at this one thing is the reason I鈥檓 here at WPI today,鈥?he says. 鈥淢ost of the kids that we were teaching over the summer had never been part of a school accelerator program before and didn鈥檛 have the opportunity for any of these science-related project-based learning experiences.鈥?lt;span>

WPI Project Lends a Voice to Climate Change and Those Affected, Globally

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000

While experts around the globe compile data and look for solutions to ease the Earth鈥檚 rapid warming, WPI students are conducting citizen science of their own on a more personal level, interviewing folks whose lives are directly impacted by rising sea levels, scorched fields, and water shortages.

鈥?lt;a>Climate Stories,鈥?an ongoing collaboration between the university鈥檚 project centers and The Global Lab, involves students interviewing residents in locations where their projects are based, such as India, New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, London, and Australia. They ask about their connection to the land and the climate-related changes they鈥檝e seen during their lifetime.

The project leverages WPI鈥檚 global network of project centers to capture an on-the-ground view of climate change鈥檚 impact on citizens. 鈥淥ne of the key learning outcomes for project-based learning is science communication and the amplification of data,鈥?says Ingrid Shockey, associate teaching professor of environmental and sustainability studies, who started Climate Stories in 2014. 鈥淭he idea of shared stories seemed like a great way to bring this to life and to generate a series about a critical topic that unites us all. For example, we hear a lot about sea level rise and coastal flooding. I was not aware that Iceland experiences land rise鈥攎elting glaciers are taking weight from the land and this, in turn, brings surprising problems to coastal communities," she says. "Harbors need to be dredged to enable safe routes, while others cannot be used anymore."

The project began at the New Zealand Project Center with students asking citizens about their perceptions of climate change. Many folks could point to areas of their lives impacted by it, Shockey says. 鈥淭hat might be a change in how they gardened or something in the landscape around them that had changed since they were children," she adds. 鈥淲e realized that these stories provide a lot of information that is often overlooked in regional climate change data. More important, these are observations and concerns that local residents are eager to share.鈥?lt;/p>

David Santamaria 鈥?0, an aerospace engineering major, agreed. He was at the India Project Center in D-Term 2019 and interviewed local residents. 鈥淪torytelling was an important aspect of our overall project work because of the fact that in today's society you can find scientific data on climate change within seconds, but there is no personal or social affect to the data,鈥?he says. 鈥淚 think this project was extremely important because we had the opportunity to empower individuals who would never have a voice otherwise.鈥?lt;/p>

The Global School Virtual Event Series to Feature Ghana鈥檚 Ambassador to U.S.

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Ghana鈥檚 ambassador to the U.S. will be the keynote speaker at WPI鈥檚 second virtual speaker series event to be held on Nov.6, highlighting The Global School and WPI鈥檚 partnerships and work in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Global School Virtual Event Series, which runs through the academic year, highlights and celebrates the emerging impact of The Global School at WPI. It includes talks by world-leading experts on the most pressing global issues of our time鈥攁mong them, sustainability, the environment, the future of work, and the impact these have on diverse regions of the world.

Ambassador H.E. Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah will also join in a panel discussion on 鈥淪cience and Technology for Innovation in Africa.鈥?WPI has been involved in numerous projects on the continent, including opening a project center in Ghana this year and MS4SSA, an initiative to improve mathematics and science in sub-Saharan Africa. Working in collaboration with The Global School, The Institute of Science and Technology for Development seeks to advance the ways in which science and technology can be used to solve important local/global problems.

鈥淲e are delighted to welcome the Ambassador to The Global School Virtual Event Series,鈥?says Provost Wole Soboyejo. 鈥淗e has been a generous and enthusiastic partner to WPI through our Ghana Project Center. His involvement amplifies the work conducted there so it has impact far beyond the local villages and colleges that our students, faculty, and staff collaborate with. Having direct access to the highest levels of the Ghanaian government through the Ambassador allows our work to inform national policy.鈥?lt;/p>

The panel discussion will be moderated by Rob Krueger, interim head of WPI鈥檚 Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. The discussion will focus on how partnerships lead to the co-production of scientific knowledge and technological innovation. It will also explore the opportunities for the co-creation of solutions by innovators in Africa and the U.S.

Panelists: H.E. Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, Ghana's Ambassador to the US; William Goriwondo, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe; Joelle Hanley, WPI Biomedical Engineering Student; Jermoh Kamara, WPI and HVK Children's Foundation; Fred McBagonluri, Academic City College, Ghana; Terence McGoldrick, Providence College and The Global Sustainable Aid Project; Solomon Mensah, WPI Post-Doc, BME; and Meron Tadesse, WPI MS student, Science and Technology for Innovation in Global Development

The inaugural event in the series was held Oct. 9. It focused on the evolution and vision of The Global School, how WPI trains other educators around the world, and how WPI is addressing the grand challenge problems across the globe.

The next event, focused on sustainability and the environment in the Latin America region, is scheduled for Dec. 2. The keynote speaker at this event will be Dr. Carlos Nobre, a co-author of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace. Nobre is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. To register, click here.

Lauren Borsa-Curran

Students Create Census Video for Arizona

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 12:00:00 +0000

As states continue compiling information for the 2020 Census, it鈥檚 critical that everyone participates in the national headcount to help the US government appropriately allocate federal funding in areas that need it most. Of particular concern across the country is the engagement of refugees, who may need additional outreach and encouragement.

To help engage refugees in the 2020 Census, Arizona is using a video created by WPI students that explains鈥攊n Arabic鈥攖he need for the census. Originally scheduled to go to the Berlin Project Center in D-Term, the students switched gears when the pandemic forced the suspension of all WPI travel; instead, they got to work with the Arizona Department of Economic Security: Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program for their Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP).

鈥淎rizona is home to a significant Arabic-speaking population and since this was the first year the census is offered in Arabic, there was an opportunity to reach this population,鈥?says Assistant Professor Sarah Stanlick, interdisciplinary and global studies, who advised the team with project director Assistant Teaching Professor Katherine Foo, social science and policy studies.

The video developed for the project features Nabil Abdelmalek, a refugee who fled Egypt to come to the United States. He describes his new life and discusses how the census is important for community building and for community funding. If you have children in school, if you have roads to be fixed, he says, you need your voice to be heard in order for the government to provide funding.

鈥淚 think the video is an important tool to help spread the information of the upcoming 2020 U.S. census in an easy but deliverable manner. From our studies we found out that video can explain a complicated concept in an engaging way, really quickly,鈥?says team member Christian Adler 鈥?1, majoring in Interactive Media and Game Design with a concentration in technical and visual arts. 鈥淎fter all, the census isn't just a way to count every person鈥攊t's to come up with statistics on what neighborhoods get federal funding.鈥?lt;/p>

The idea for the video began when the Arizona Department of Economic Security: Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program received information about a video competition about the 2020 census, launched by a group affiliated with the U.S. Census Bureau. 鈥淥ur video explained why the census unto itself is important. We also made the video entirely in Arabic in order to directly reach the Arabic-speaking populations of Arizona and hopefully the rest of the United States,鈥?Adler says.

鈥淭hrough the wonderful efforts of the students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), they were able to create a census video for our Arabic-speaking refugee clients. Their help in creating this video will continue to support the need for our Arabic speaking refugee clients to be counted in the census for Arizona,鈥?says Asmeen Hamkar, deputy state refugee coordinator for the Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program.

The video was also posted through the Refugee and Immigrant Service Provider Network and seen by 30 percent of its viewers. Another 300 people saw it after the video played following a virtual World Refugee Day Celebration.

Stanlick cited the video as an example of the impact an IQP can have.

鈥淭he video project combined many aspects of WPI鈥檚 signature project-based learning and is a strong example of the importance of the IQP: bringing together critical inquiry, social science methods, and technical expertise to address a vexing social problem,鈥?she says. 鈥淚n this instance, the challenge was how to reach the undercounted refugee population in the census effort.鈥?amp;nbsp;

WPI Featured in The New York Times for Global Project Experience in Albania

admin — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 12:00:00 +0000

WPI is proud to be recognized by The New York Times in the article titled, 鈥?lt;a>From Albania to Singapore, U.S. Students Look for Tailored Experiences Abroad,鈥?in the June 7, 2019 issue for its signature Global Projects Program. The article featured four students and two faculty advisors who traveled to one of WPI鈥檚 more than 50 global project centers. At the Albania Project Center, the students immersed themselves in a new culture and tackled a real-world problem to help a local community. For their distinctive global project experience, they developed flood risk management strategies focused on getting Albanian residents to think more concretely about flood disaster planning as it applies to their community.

With such a complex issue, it was a challenge for students to develop a plan of attack in a short seven-week span. After taking a step back and thinking strategically about how they could impact residents' thinking, they created an impactful card-style game adapted from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center that helped residents determine emergency moves.

Global Lab Welcomes Fellows-in-Residence

amracicot — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 12:00:00 +0000

The new Global Lab in the Foisie Innovation Studio is already opening doors to cutting-edge research with significant impact. With various media equipment and collaborations available, the Lab鈥檚 top goal came to life as a Fellows-in-Residence program launched even as A-Term began.

A collaborative effort, the program allows WPI faculty the time and space to explore research projects and ideas on a deeper level and without the typical distractions that come with a full teaching schedule.

During this pilot year, five global fellows will occupy the space on a rotating basis, with generally one fellow in residence per term, says Steve McCauley who co-directs the Global Lab with Leslie Dodson. Eventually, the Lab may support fellows over the summer as well.

This year, Fellows Ingrid Shockey and Andrew Trapp have found the program鈥檚 benefits invaluable to advancing their work.

鈥淲hen the idea of the media lab came out I was so happy because when you add these resources to the work we all we do here at WPI, it becomes a whole new ballgame,鈥?says Shockey, the inaugural fellow. 鈥淭he Global Lab has the potential to amplify the research of the Fellows, as well as student or faculty projects across the university.鈥?lt;/p>

Many at WPI are familiar with the idea of visiting faculty who spend time in residence, but few institutions offer the same opportunity to in-house faculty. The novel set-up builds interdisciplinary relationships on campus while giving faculty a chance to explore news ways of communicating and sharing their work.

鈥淲ith this opportunity, I have access to things I want to do but haven鈥檛 done...I don鈥檛 know if I would be able to do this without the Global Lab.鈥?-Andrew Trapp

Faculty and Global Lab staff collaborate with department heads to work out course schedules so fellows can devote full-time or nearly full-time hours to their fellowship project. Faculty members have the option of replacing one course for the fellowship.

Fellowships are open to all faculty, as they each will bring different viewpoints and experiences to enhance the Global Lab鈥檚 impact, says McCauley. Using the resources to enhance global interactions and communications is a significant part of the Lab鈥檚 goals, but the options for doing so are varied.

Shockey鈥檚 work focuses on climate change stories and inviting people around the world to relay their personal experiences. 鈥淲hen we look at climate data, we don鈥檛 feel it,鈥?says Shockey, who has been in residence for A- and B-Terms. 鈥淔undamentally, our lives aren鈥檛 changing too much in Worcester. In places where livelihoods depend on climate, they are feeling it and in many different ways.鈥?lt;/p>

Shockey and her students map global climate stories using the equipment and a thorough understanding of the ethics behind responsibly documenting another鈥檚 story. Previously, students recorded stories during IQPs in India and New Zealand with Shockey, but, she says, they didn鈥檛 have a good way to talk about the work or the potential the work might have to impact others鈥?projects. 鈥淭he Global Lab is a gateway to do that,鈥?she says.

After a brief training with Shockey and the Lab directors, an IQP team in Iceland recently produced an inspiring climate change clip that reaffirmed the value of the Lab鈥檚 impact. Eventually, Shockey envisions installations or even using virtual reality in her work, something she never would have had the opportunity to do without the fellowship.

Trapp鈥檚 residency will last the seven weeks of B-Term. Using this time, he will deepen his work on refugee resettlement using a computational tool he and his research team developed.

鈥淲ith this opportunity, I have access to things I want to do but haven鈥檛 done,鈥?he says. 鈥淚 write academic papers, and I love that, but I am learning about storyboarding and podcasting here.鈥?He says he is creating a video to help tell his research story鈥攐ne that translates well using that medium. Using algorithms to improve refugees鈥?lives has significant human impact but isn鈥檛 always easy to explain without an engaging medium.

The partnership is welcome. 鈥淭hey have the facilities and I have work to share,鈥?Trapp says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I would be able to do this without the Global Lab. I鈥檝e thought about doing a video, but it wouldn鈥檛 have been polished enough.鈥?The video can be shared globally, showing the impact his technology has to better humanity.

Originating a New Program

The idea for the fellowships came out of discussions among a collaborative planning group, says McCauley. The team (with members from IGSD, GPS, IMGD, Gordon Library, the ATC, and HUA) discussed approaches to enhance the impact of faculty work, interests, and expertise in ways that will help empower all the Global Lab is doing to engage with partners worldwide.

鈥淭he capacity here is so high for doing extraordinary work, and for exposing students to what鈥檚 available. I don鈥檛 need to go anywhere else.鈥?-Ingrid Shockey

Locating the fellows in the Lab is important says McCauley. 鈥淧art of the fellowship is being in the Global Lab space and seeing what comes up from collaborations here,鈥?he says. 鈥淎nd I am curious to see how the Fellows might influence each other.鈥?lt;/p>

Applications for Fellowships

Faculty members apply for a Global Lab Fellowship (the next call for applications will go out on December 7), and the guidelines are flexible, although projects that focus on creatively communicating and collaborating with partners around the world are especially relevant. 鈥淲e invite them to do what they want to do,鈥?McCauley says, 鈥渁nd encourage their creativity.鈥?lt;/p>

As many IQPs and global projects address similar or related themes (such as education, sustainability, or urban planning), the information generated in the Lab will connect these themes. 鈥淭his will help us learn to coordinate and synthesize that learning,鈥?he says. For instance, work in at least three project centers is related to monitoring microplastics. As this work continues, the information can be correlated to build on findings from other corners of the globe.

鈥淭his is a key element to show and elevate impact and will help launch new initiatives,鈥?says McCauley. 鈥淲e have a wealth of experience and expertise we haven鈥檛 been able to show. There is so much going on around the world at the project center sites.鈥?

Both Shockey and Trapp say their work in the Lab is only the beginning. With the new partnerships, knowledge, and inspiration, their research will continue with new direction. Remaining on campus for the fellowship was a bonus for both.

鈥淭he capacity here is so high for doing extraordinary work,鈥?says Shockey, 鈥渁nd for exposing students to what鈥檚 available. I don鈥檛 need to go anywhere else.鈥?lt;/p>

- By Julia Quinn-Szcesuil