Posted November 28, 2012 Atlanta, GA
Georgia Tech's Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program has been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) as a cutting-edge way to add real-world experience into engineering training.
VIP was selected by the NAE as one of 29 programs that "have successfully infused real-world experiences into engineering or engineering technology undergraduate education."
Undergraduates who join VIP can work on research with both peers and graduate students. They become members of teams, which focus on multidisciplinary work and can stay together for years. That way, students can devote time to large projects and establish relationships with older students. VIP work also counts toward degrees.
There were 95 nominations for the NAE distinction, and entries were judged on factors such as programs’ creativity and diversity. In assessing the VIP program, NAE observed that its participants "actively interact regarding both technical and managerial advice."
Some of Tech’s recent VIP groups include the Brain Beats team, which investigates human rhythmic ability, and the eDemocracy team, which examines methods for secure voting. One of the highlights of VIP is that it incorporates students from numerous academic fields. The program was established at Georgia Tech in 2008 by Edward J. Coyle, a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and director of the Arbutus Center for the Integration of Research and Education.
Two other Tech programs were also nominated for NAE recognition. The Inventure Prize competition, one of the nominees, encourages undergraduates to create an invention either individually or in teams. The first place entry wins $15,000.
The other nominee was the Senior Design project in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). All ISyE seniors participate in this capstone, which allows them to solve design problems for clients in either the corporate or non-profit worlds.
About the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is one of eight schools and departments in the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. All ECE undergraduate and graduate programs are in the top 10 of the most recent college rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Over 2,500 students are enrolled in the School’s graduate and undergraduate programs, and in the last academic year, 723 degrees were awarded.
Over 110 ECE faculty members are involved in 11 areas of research, education, and commercialization – bioengineering, computer systems and software, digital signal processing, electric power, electromagnetics, electronic design and applications, microsystems, optics and photonics, systems and controls, telecommunications, and VLSI systems and digital design.
About the Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the world's premier research universities. Ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities and the eighth best engineering and information technology university in the world by Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities, Georgia Tech’s more than 20,000 students are enrolled in its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Business, and Sciences. Tech is among the nation's top producers of women and minority engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
