Women in the World
Women ☆ Possibility ☆ Inspiration
Women in the World: Showcasing IQPs that Impact the Lives of Women and Girls
WPI students have helped improve the lives of women and girls for over more than 20 years in 14 countries through 90+ Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQPs). IQPs allow students to work in interdisciplinary teams to solve a problem or provide for a need at the crossroads of science and society. The Global Lab showcases and conducts research on the extensive array of IQP projects that have benefitted female community members at project centers. This initiative is generously supported by the Women’s Impact Network at WPI.
- 15+ projects
- Projects support marginalized women to start local businesses
- Help existing businesses expand and grow
- Aid in marketing women’s products and organizations
- Use technology to expand women’s businesses
- Analyze factors affecting employment of women
- 30+ projects
- Introduced more women and girls to STEM through clubs, STEM camps, and understanding of technology
- Assessed the presence of gendered career interests in Worcester schools
- Evaluated the culture and support surrounding women at WPI
- 20+ projects
- Increase awareness of women’s health issues within disadvantaged communities
- Aid organizations that help women with cancer
- Develop programs to prevent abuse of women
- Research reproductive health issues
Study perceptions of health risks resulting from making weight in rowing
- Aid in fundraising for homeless women
Featured IQP Projects
Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers at Work and at Home in Indonesia About Abstract To combat infant mortality, Indonesian law requires women to provide children younger than six months breastmilk. However, a lack of employee support and educational resources has kept...
Does having a foreign accent affect men and women differently? Effect of foreign accent and gender on employment decisions and negotiations
Does having a foreign accent affect men and women differently? Effect of foreign accent and gender on employment decisions and negotiations The Hypothesis Hypothesis 1. Previous studies have shown that speaking with an international accent negatively affects...
Developing Digital Literacy Modules for Women in Cuenca, Ecuador Identifying Knowledge Flow to Develop a Strategic Plan Abstract Our project worked with the María Amor Foundation in Cuenca, Ecuador to build a self-sustaining curriculum to teach digital literacy for...
About Woman in Stem Projects
- WPI offers female students support, advocacy and development programs from the moment they arrive on campus, and has also developed programs to get girls and teens interested in STEM careers at an early age.
- “WPI is fast becoming one of the stand-out schools for women who are interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math,” the BestCollegesOnline.com review says. “The school is bringing in female students in record numbers, with the highest enrollment of women in the school’s 145-year history. Women will make up 34 percent of the class of 2014 at WPI, an increase of 83 percent over the past five years.
- WPI recognizes the value and importance of engaging women in the STEM disciplines, and we work diligently to create a culture that values collaboration, innovation, curiosity, and exploration – all of which supports their development and success. It is a point of immense pride for WPI that we have been able to attract so many outstanding female students and faculty through our pipeline, recruitment, and support programs
Ignite Program: Women In Science
The IGNITE offers students the chance to explore more complex topics. Young women come together to learn how careers in science medicine, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are collaborative, creative, and help address a variety of social issues. There are multiple hands-on workshops each day that take place in WPI’s labs. The workshops are presented by female role models including WPI faculty, graduate students, and industry professionals. This particular session is for girls only.
Women’s Research And Mentorship Program
The WPI Women’s Research And Mentorship Program is for young women who are interested in learning about STEM research alongside.
This program exposes young women to positive female role models with a STEM
background who are pursuing an undergraduate, masters, doctorate, or postdoctoral degree. Each student will be matched with an undergraduate and graduate student to work on a research project in a mentoring setting.
WPI Named a Top University for Helping Women Succeed in STEM Fields
A new ranking by BestCollegesOnline.com places Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) 9th in the nation among schools that do the best job of helping women succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. “The 10 Best Colleges for Females in STEM Fields” cites WPI’s advocacy and development programs for female students, as well as programs to get girls’ interested in STEM fields from an early age.
Women’s Impact Network Makes Its Mark in Four Years of Grant Awards
The Women’s Impact Network (WIN) is pleased to announce its fourth year of grant awardees in the 2020–21 grant application process. Fourteen out of 28 applications were funded, totaling $239,628. The applicants represented faculty, staff, students, and alumnae, submitting proposals ranging from student and faculty support, to research, diversity and inclusion, conferences, and leadership.
All grant funds come from Women’s Impact Network member donations.
WPI Recognized for Best Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Paper in ASEE 2020
The paper, “Building and Evaluating a Multi-tiered Mentor Program to Introduce Research to High School Women,” details how WPI developed the Women’s Research and Mentoring Program (WRAMP) with the goal of encouraging more women to consider advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The multi-tiered mentor program has evolved over its first three iterations to place two local high school students from underrepresented groups in a graduate student mentor’s research lab along with an undergraduate student as a mentor/mentee.
WPI's Department of Integrative & Global Studies (DIGS)
ASSOCIATE TEACHING PROFESSOR
Climate Stories: Using transmedia storytelling to connect ethnographies of climate change across WPI project center sites
WPI has an extraordinary opportunity to leverage our student project sites around the world to build a platform for sharing voices and perspectives on meaningful topics. Recording climate change stories engages students with communities on a topic of universal urgency, and in ways that transcend common barriers. The experiences of ordinary people on the ground have not always been solicited in planning for adaptation strategies or in other official narratives and metrics about climate change. We hear about the crisis more frequently in broad terms, such as with regard to policy decisions, or in the context of action (deniers vs activists).
M.S. Manufacturing Engineering
Class of 2021
APPLYING AXIOMATIC DESIGN TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS: A Case Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Development
The current pharmaceutical manufacturing approval process was originally established under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act in 1938. And while the requirements have changed and been updated, what it looks for has remained mostly the same. This means that industry has mostly continued reusing tried and true methods to address the requirements put forward. Due to the recent prevalence of the sped-up process that the COVID-19 vaccine there has been conversation on how to change and update both the requirement on the regulatory side and how industry creatively addresses those requirements. We are using Axiomatic Design to break down the current process, what happened to the COVID-19 vaccine, and what lessons were learned from the analysis of the processes. The recommendations provided focus on how industry can better address some of the current requirements and shorten the process on their side, but the analysis also provides a breakdown on how regulations can be improved to better address the need.
Elke A. Rundensteiner
WPI's Computer Science Department
Professor, Computer Science
Director, Data Science
Supporting Women in Data Science via the Women in Data Science Symposium: Fostering Diversity, Community, Mentorship, Outreach, and Global Impact—all in one!
The global Women in Data Science (WiDS) conference will inspire students and professionals by featuring exclusively female speakers at more than 100 concurrent locations worldwide. WPI WiDS, as the Central Massachusetts satellite, serves as local hub for mentoring, networking, and inspiring WPI’s community of students, faculty, and professionals with a keynote, career panel, tech talks, poster session, hands-on table projects, and data competitions. The committed group is passionate about bringing this inspiring program to WPI as an annual event.
Camp Reach Project
Women in the STEM World: Showcasing STEM-Education
About Camp Reach
Camp Reach is a summer residential program for girls who have an interest in learning more about science and engineering careers. Camp Reach exposes participants to science and engineering concepts through discovery workshops, field trips, and hands-on community service projects.
Camp Reach & Global Lab
The Women In STEM Education project focuses on highlighting powerful women in the STEM-Ed field. Global Lab producers Chioma Onyenokwe (‘21) and Paloma González Gálvez (‘22) have been talking to the women of Camp Reach to share their experience and highlight the importance of STEM programs for young women.
Camp Reach Leaders
Camp Reach Conversations
Global Lab mediamakers curated conversations with Camp Reach leaders and alums to reveal and celebrate the many ways Camp Reach creates a network of powerful, accomplished, connected women in STEM.
Camp Reach Alums
Camp Reach ‘09, WPI ‘19
“Supporting young girls in their endeavors is a special thing. I think Camp Reach really set me on the path that I’m on today.”
Camp Reach ‘12, WPI ‘22
One of my friends from Camp Reach ended up being my co-worker at an internship. It was like we were instantly friends again!
Camp Reach Co-Founder
“Young women begin to see themselves as potential engineers because they’re actually solving a problem.”
Camp Reach Director
“The girls’ growth in self confidence and self efficacy is just as important as getting them excited about engineering.”