{"372471":{"#nid":"372471","#data":{"type":"news","title":"With $5 Million Grant, VIP Program Will Grow at Georgia Tech and Around the U.S.","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/new\/\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003EVertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;has been awarded a $5 million grant from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/helmsleytrust.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003EThe Leona M. and Harry B.\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;Charitable Trust\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to drive systemic reform of STEM education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe VIP Program unites large teams of undergraduates with graduate students and faculty to work together on long-term research projects. Under the leadership of Georgia Tech and the co-leadership of the University of Michigan, the\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;award will expand VIP to a consortium of other schools. That will give the program foothold in a variety of institutions across the U.S., including those that primarily serve underrepresented, minority, or nontraditional students, as well as members of the prestigious Association of American Universities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech will be able to expand its own VIP program, whose research teams currently include undergraduates from more than 20 majors. Each team focuses on one topic \u2013 such as\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/new\/teams\/brain-beats-vpc\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003Ehuman rhythmic ability\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/new\/teams\/e-democracy-vp2\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003Ethe Internet\u2019s impact on democratic processes\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/new\/teams\/e-stadium-vp3\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003Etechnology\u2019s uses at sports stadiums\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2013 and encourages collaboration across disciplines. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganizers plan to more than double the number of VIP teams and hire more staff members to help the program grow. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;Charitable Trust is thrilled to support the VIP Consortium\u2019s transformative approach to active learning in engineering,\u0022 said Ryan Kelsey, program officer at the Trust. \u0022It is very compelling to see such a range of engineering schools across the country that are ready to adopt large-scale, effective practices that we expect will retain more students, particularly more women and students of color.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;Charitable Trust\u2019s education program aims to increase American competitiveness and innovation. At the post-secondary level, it focuses on increasing the number and diversity of college graduates in STEM fields by improving persistence to graduate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVIP offers an ideal setting for rethinking STEM education, because it draws students of various ages, interests and experiences together for ongoing work. VIP projects can last a decade or more, and undergraduates may spend up to three years with their project teams.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022For many students, this is the first chance they\u2019ve had to do something real while they\u2019re undergraduates,\u0022 said Edward Coyle, Arbutus Chair for the Integration of Research and Education at Tech. He is the VIP Program\u2019s founder and director, as well as an Eminent Scholar at the Georgia Research Alliance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThanks to VIP, some students may feel more comfortable sticking with STEM fields and pursuing them after college. The program, organizers wrote in their\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;grant proposal, \u201ccan create the sense of belonging and pride of accomplishment that motivates students to persist through other elements of the STEM curriculum.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter establishing VIP at Purdue University in 2001, Coyle came to Georgia Tech and launched its VIP program through the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. By the fall of 2014, more than 300 Tech students \u2013 the majority from the College of Engineering \u2013 were participating in VIP teams each semester.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe VIP consortium consists of 15 public and private institutions, including two universities abroad: National\u0026nbsp;Ilan\u0026nbsp;University in Taiwan and the University of\u0026nbsp;Strathclyde\u0026nbsp;in Scotland. The 13 participating U.S. universities are:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUniversity of Michigan\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPurdue University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERice University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUniversity of Washington\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHoward University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMorehouse\u0026nbsp;College\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFlorida International University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBoise State University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EColorado State University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUniversity of\u0026nbsp;Hawaii-Manoa\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EVirginia Commonwealth University\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Given the number of former VIP students that have let me know that VIP has been a deciding factor in finding a career job position,\u0022 said\u0026nbsp;Randal\u0026nbsp;Abler, VIP\u2019s associate director, \u0022I\u0027m excited to see what can be accomplished by extending the program beyond Georgia Tech.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/vip.gatech.edu\/new\/\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003EVertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;has been awarded a $5 million grant from\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/helmsleytrust.org\/\u0022 rel=\u0022nofollow\u0022\u003EThe Leona M. and Harry B.\u0026nbsp;Helmsley\u0026nbsp;Charitable Trust\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to drive systemic reform of STEM education.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u2019s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program has been awarded a $5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to drive systemic reform of STEM education."}],"uid":"27842","created_gmt":"2015-02-04 11:10:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:38","author":"Ashlee Gardner","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"167487","name":"STEM education"},{"id":"30661","name":"VIP"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELyndsey Lewis\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lyndsey.lewis@coe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elyndsey.lewis@coe.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollege of Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lyndsey.lewis@coe.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}