WORCESTER, Mass. — Sean Thal of Scotch Plains recently completed a senior thesis that is required of all graduating seniors as part of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) distinctive projectbased educational experience. Mr. Thal, who majored in Mechanical Engineering, was awarded a bachelor’s degree in May.

The project, NASA Lunabotics, was Mr. Thal’s Major Qualifying Project (MQP). Such projects are usually teambased and often focus on very specific issues or needs of an organization that has partnered with the university to sponsor the student’s work.

“It’s inspiring to see the creativity and skills that our students bring to these projects, as well as the professionalism with which they present their research,” said Arne Gericke, interim dean of undergraduate studies and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “Their experience managing a major project like this — including identifying a problem and researching all of the implications and possible solutions while also managing team dynamics over an extended period of several months — sets them up well for success not only in their first jobs after graduation but throughout their careers.”

A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI, project-based learning offers students the opportunity to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives.

Prior to their MQP, students complete an Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP), usually in their junior year, with a team of other students across disciplines; the projects may or may not relate to the students’ fields of study and are sponsored by organizations across the globe to give students real-world experience addressing problems that lie at the intersection of science and society.

Approximately 85 percent of WPI students complete a project at one of the university’s more than 50 offcampus project centers located in over 30 countries around the world.

WPI offers more than 70 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs across 18 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. For more information, visit www.wpi.edu.