Rockwall resident Trevor Karrett returns from intensive research project

Trevor Karrett of Rockwall, Texas, a member of the class of 2021 majoring in electrical and computer engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), was a member of a student team that recently completed an intense, hands-on research project through the WPI project center in Denmark. The project was titled Developing Funding Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations. In their project summary, the students wrote, “CWA provides free bike rides to reconnect the elderly with cycling, the outdoors, and their youth, which is accomplished using trishaws. CWA is a global grassroots organization. Finding ways to fund the movement is a growing challenge. To help solve this problem, two main foci were pursued: funding on the local level and funding on the international level.”

At WPI, all undergraduates are required to complete a research-driven, professional-level project that applies science and technology to addresses an important societal need or issue. About two-thirds of students complete a project at one of the university’s 50-plus off-campus project centers, which are located around the world. A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI, the project-based curriculum offers students the opportunity to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to develop thoughtful solutions to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives-and make a difference before they graduate.

“The WPI project-based curriculum’s focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge and to solve problems,” said Professor Kent Rissmiller, interim dean of the WPI Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division. “Students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture, from the way people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat – all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today’s global marketplace. They also learn the meaning and magic of teamwork; make a real and meaningful difference in their host community; and gain a competitive edge for any resume, or graduate or professional school application.”

WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. To learn more visit www.wpi.edu.

Submitted press release.

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