WORCESTER, Mass. — A team of undergraduates from Worcester Polytechnic Institute recently were honored as finalists for the President’s Interactive Qualifying Project Awards for participating on the project, Implications of Introducing the IIT Mandi to the Rural Kamand Region. As a member of this team Justin Rice, of Oakland, a senior, examined the impacts that the Indian Institute of Technology construction would have on surrounding villages, according to a news release from the Institute.

The Interactive Qualifying Project, one of two major projects required of WPI undergraduates, enables students to pursue hands-on, real-world research opportunities all over the world. Working in teams under the guidance of faculty advisors, students conduct their research either locally or at one of more than 40 WPI-sponsored global project centers to address — and solve — real problems that lie at the interface of science, technology, social issues and human needs. Students who complete their IQPs at project centers address local issues, develop an understanding of other cultures, and see how their lives and work will play out on a global stage, according to the release.

The President’s IQP Awards recognize the student teams whose conception, performance and presentation of their Interactive Qualifying Project has been judged outstanding in focusing on the relationships among science, technology and the needs of society. During the IQP Awards event on Jan. 30, all five finalist teams gave presentations before a panel of judges, including WPI President Laurie Leshin.