Worcester Polytechnic Institute
EN-9: Community Partnerships

WPI is a partner in Green2Growth, a National Grid community outreach program that grew out of the Green Today Growth Tomorrow Community Summit of 2011. The program provides consumer education and outreach around energy efficiency and smart grid technology. http://www.green2growth.com/

WPI is a founding partner of the Institute for Energy and Sustainability, the mission of which is to attract clean energy technology and renewable energy companies to the region. More specifically, IES is working to transform the industrial corridors of Central Massachusetts into a green energy zone. Since the founding of IES in 2009, WPI has served on the organization's Steering Committee. http://energyandsustainability.com/

The Worcester Community Project Center (WCPC), an off-campus center funded by WPI, was founded in 2000 in an effort to integrate undergraduate engineering and science education with community needs. The Center connects community organizations with student and faculty teams that work full time for over two months to create professional reports that propose feasible and appropriate solutions to an issue or problem faced by the organization. WCPC projects are developed around three themes: Environmental Justice, Environmental Policy, and Social Justice. Importantly, the WCPC does not define the scope or focus of the projects it undertakes. Ensuring a truly community-based approach, the sponsoring community organizations, local politicians and their constituencies define the problems to which the WCPC responds. To date, over 65 projects have been completed through the WCPC. Project sponsors have included municipal governments, the Mayor's Office, the Broad Meadow Brook Audubon Sanctuary, the Regional Environmental Council, the Greater Worcester Land Trust, the Worcester Art Museum, Centro Las Americas, AIDS Project Worcester, Friendly House, Arts Worcester and various community development corporations. http://wp.wpi.edu/wcpc/

Through the Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division, students can complete their Interactive Qualifying Projects in one of 30+ project centers around the world, including U.S sites like Bar Harbor Maine, to Cape Town, South Africa, Copenhagen, Denmark, Melbourne, Australia, San Jose, Costa Rica, Windhoek, Namibia, and more. Recent projects include: Innovating Water Sanitation and Hygiene Upgrading in Jangrug; A Feasibility Study of a Biodiesel Plant in Cartago, Costa Rica; and Supporting Early Childhood Development in Monwabisi Park, Cape Town, South Africa. Additionally, WPI's Engineers Without Borders groups interact with communities for extended periods of time through multiple student group projects. One project builds upon the previous projects, for the purpose of creating systemic positive change. Municipal and institutional stakeholders and faculty and students engage in project development, implementation, and review. Most recently, this group has been working to improve the water supply in a Guatemalan village, Guachthu'ug. http://www.wpi.edu/academics/igsd/gpp.html