A variant of service learning: the impact of ten years of student projects in Puerto Rico

Interdisciplinary undergraduate teams from WPI have begun to make an impact on the island of Puerto Rico. A ten-year flow of academically driven projects with local and federal government and with private industry has addressed the most pressing of issues, particularly a broad spectrum of environmental issues. Synergy has developed among the projects and among the sponsoring organizations as a result of the students' work. This paper explores how that synergy has developed, what areas have been impacted, and what are the emerging areas that groups might address in the future. WPI students have addressed the development of biological corridors needed for species preservation, multi-modal transportation design, development of recycling facilities to reduce solid waste disposal, and coastal area management.