Interdisciplinary Education
(IDC) helped develop skills and interest in the other (engineering) majors, which has been very beneficial after graduation. I learned about areas I never would have been exposed to as an electrical engineer that I am now pursuing. IDC helped me to be able to understand real-world problems from a variety of backgrounds to develop a more comprehensive and holistic solution.
Erin Cox '23
The IDPro to IDC Pathway
Interdisciplinary Projects (IDPro) are smaller in scope and complexity than Interdisciplinary Capstone (IDC) projects. IDPro can be a great introductory way for faculty or industry sponsors to work with student from multiple departments on a single project.
An IDPro topic can "graduate" into a more difficult project in the IDC senior design course. In some cases, undergraduate students on an IDPro team can stay with the project into their senior IDC course.
Companies wanting to increase their engagement with VT students and potentially create a hiring pipeline should consider
- sponsoring IDPro topics,
- offering internships to participating students over the summer, and then
- having those students continue working on the topic as an IDC project their senior year.