Alicia, Homecoming Week

I have made many memories during my time here at Illinois Institute of Technology, that it’s hard to choose just one! One memory that stands out the most for me is when I first arrived as a freshman on campus. It was Homecoming Week, and I was just starting to meet new people. I was having a hard time with the transition from high school to college, so I joined quite a few different student organizations in hope of making new friends and to have fun on campus. There were quite a few different groups that welcomed me, including UB (Union Board), LIFE (Latinos Involved in Furthering Education), and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers).

During homecoming week, UB was in need to volunteers, and since I never had the opportunity to participate in such a huge event like homecoming at my previous school, I was very excited! When it was the day of the Homecoming Carnival, I actually helped create two golf cart floats for the Homecoming Parade and was asked to lead the parade! Everyone was very polite and friendly, and I created many new friendships with my fellow classmates. I am extremely happy to have made the decision to come to IIT, for I feel very accepted here and I don’t think I could find any other place that I would want to be.

Shezami, IPRO Day Spring 2008

I was involved in an IPRO called “Designing an Artificial Pancreas”  which was concerned with developing a non-evasive method for measuring blood glucose level and injecting the appropriate amount of insulin at specific time intervals. Initially I had chosen this IPRO based merely on the fact that it sounded so interesting and innovative but once the project went underway I became very passionate about it.

About 3 million people in America suffer from Diabetes and the fact that we could maybe develop an equipment to relieve them from the pain, they have to suffer to get a drop of blood and inject insulin, really inspired me. This IPRO exploited my full potential and allowed me apply my knowledge in real life problems. It was an IPRO of only 10 students and we learned a lot from and about each other. This was a continuing IPRO and we had completely redesigned the existing technology.  After an entire semester of hard work and diligence, when IPRO day approached we were all suddenly nervous and low in self-confidence. But our instructor gave us the motivation and encouragement we needed. We gave our presentation to the judges in the morning and stood by our display explaining our projects to judges and visitors the rest of the day.

At the end of IPRO day, we realized that we had done our best and there was nothing else we could have done to make it a better project. We were extremely anxious when they were announcing the results for our track. It was shocking and exciting to hear that our IPRO project won first place – it was then that we had realized that all our efforts had paid well.

This experience, among many others, makes me realize how much IIT has molded me into the passionate person I am today about my goals and ambitions. It makes me realize that education is not just about doing good grades and a high-paying job but it is also about helping people.  

Halloween marks costumes, trick-or-treat and the Pumpkin Launch! Although it rained most of the day on Friday, it didn't stop the IIT students from competing in the fifth annual IIT Pumpkin Launch. There was even a sizeable crowd of IIT students, faculty, staff and guests cheering on the teams and enjoying the festive fall treats (including apple cider--my favorite).

This year the first place team, Trebuchet Guevara, launched their pumpkin 185 feet, the third farthest in IIT Pumpkin Launch history! The most accurate team was the Delts who also took second place in a distance of 91 feet.  

The IIT Pumpkin Launch was once again a success and even though the weather didn't cooperate the teams and fans had a great time!!

Hopefully next year you will be able to check it out too :)

The students' concerns were heard and the following Sunday, October 18 Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill restoring full Map funding! There were a few IIT students were among a select group of college students present when the bill was signed. Additionally, Julia Gonzalez (IIT student and Admission Intern) spoke to the group at the signing ceremony.

You can watch the WGN news story here.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel for IIT to Mexico to recruit more international students to campus. I thought that you may like to hear more about my trip which was AMAZING! Not only was the weather perfect (80s-90s and sunny) just when it was getting cold in Chicago but I met wonderful students and was able to do a bit of sightseeing. Let me start by saying that Mexican food tastes SO MUCH BETTER in Mexico! My favorite dish was this chicken rice soup with avocado and a smoked chipotle pepper…mmmm. Everything was made fresh to order which just enhances the quality of the dish—I miss it already!

So my week began in Guadalajara. I had a fair on Monday so I arrived Sunday afternoon, giving me a few hours to sightsee before it was dark. I took a double decker bus tour of the city which allowed me to see the main sights in the city. There is a great downtown area with lots of churches and historical buildings as well as squares for people to relax and enjoy their surroundings. I attended a fair at the American School at Guadalajra and then it was off to Queretaro.

Queretaro is such a beautiful city! We stayed at this 16^th century Hacienda that was magnificent and the staff was extremely attentive and helpful—I would recommend it to anyone visiting the city. The College fair was great and probably one of the busiest of the week. We had a student who enrolled from this high school last year so students remembered that and wanted to follow in his footsteps J.

Monterrey was the third city of my trip and I was disappointed that I didn’t have time to explore the city as well as the natural areas including the mountains, canyons and forests (the scenery is gorgeous). Did you know that it is the third largest city in Mexico after Mexico City and Guadalajara. It is one of their biggest tech cities in the country and seems very modernized. Next year I plan to spend more time here! Anyways, so I went to the fair and one of the reps accidentally went to the wrong school location. He was supposed to give the Engineering presentation and they needed another representative to present instead of him. Guess what… I had an engineering presentation prepared for the American School in Mexico City so I jumped into it and wowed the students. Well, I don’t know if I would go that far, but I gave the presentation and I think it went well for a last minute substitution. There was a fair following the presentation that was great too! We have an exchange program with Tec de Monterrey which is a top university in Mexico so I met some transfer and exchange students from their school too!

My final stop was in Mexico City. Let me say that I LOVED MEXICO CITY! I was a bit hesitant because you only hear negative comments about crime and the size of the city but I really enjoyed my time here. It was nice because I had four days so I was able to get a good flavor for the city. I attended three college fairs and have two engineering presentations (luckily I had practiced in Monterrey J) so I was quite busy in Mexico City. The fairs were REALLY busy and I met with really students who had thoughtful questions (trust me, reps really appreciate questions that cannot be found online or in the viewbook) about IIT and our specific academic programs.

I would have to say that my favorite part of Mexico City (besides shopping) was when I walked over to Chapultepec Park. This area houses the Castle of Chapultepec as well as numerous museums and monuments. It is a nice area to walk around or just sit on a bench and enjoy a nice book. 

Unfortunately, I did not have more time to go into the museums but next time I will set aside a day for this. The National Museum of Anthropology was highly recommended from colleagues from other schools who were also on this trip.

Oh, I almost forgot. They had wastebaskets that were made out of pop bottles—very environmentally friendly! I had never seen this before and thought it was pretty neat!

As you can see, this was a great trip! I loved Mexico and look forward to going back next year. Hopefully, some of the bright and talented students that I met with will join the IIT community next fall!!

Adios,

Carolyn

We are here to answer any questions that you may have about the different application deadlines to IIT. Please ask us if you have any questions!!

Read the article here.

If you weren't able to make it out this past Saturday but are still interested in visiting the campus, don't worry -- our next open house is coming up on Saturday, November 14. Details and registration are available here. We won't have any more giant birthday cards, but it's still sure to be a great time.

Photos from this past Saturday are available in our gallery.

What does IPRO mean?

IPROs = Interprofessional Projects Program.

What is an IPRO?

An IPRO is a project-based course in which students from various academic disciplines work together to solve a real-world program. Each team consists of 5-15 students from sophomore to graduate students from a wide-range of majors. The IPRO course teaches students how to excel in the workplace by providing them a pratical experiences that reinforce their classroom knowledge, providing students with richer learning experiences.

Does every student take an IPRO?

All undergraduate students must complete at least two 3-credit IPRO courses. There are some majors that require students to complete at least 3 IPRO courses (Chemical Engineering is one example).

What is IPRO Day?

At the end of every semester the IPRO program orgaizes IPRO Day in which all IPRO teams will present their work and research they completed throughout the semester. Each team will compete for special awards including cash prizes!

View IPRO Day Videos

What is a typical IPRO project?

There is no "typical" IPRO project which allows for a wide range of research projects to be introduced each semester. However, there are various IPRO categories including Applied Research, Development and Planning; Process Improvement; Sustainability; Service Learning and Venture Development. The Venture Development projects including our EnPROs which are Entrepreneurial Projects.

Is that all?

Of course not! There is so much to learn about the IPRO program. You may visit their webiste to learn more about the history and tradition as well as current IPRO projects: http://ipro.iit.edu/project-listings.

Also, I encourage you to visit the student blogs as they frequently write about their IPRO projects. Kunle Apampa just posted yesterday about his EnPRO--check it out!

Let us know if you have any other questions about the IPRO program at IIT!

Carolyn 

The program helps first-year students better adjust to college life through the advice and wisdom of their mentors. Many ChBE students say at graduation, "if I knew then what i know now...", so this program provides them the opportunity to pass that wisdom down to the next generation of ChBE students at IIT!

Courtney Leigh Beisel

Communicaton Coordinator, Chemical and Biological Engineering

If that was a true classified ad Mayor Daley would have been the first person on Craigslist.com to reply. On Friday, October 2^nd Chicago and the rest of the world will be anxiously waiting to hear the announcement for the host of the 2016 Olympics. The international Olympic Committee‘s 100-plus members will select the host in Copenhagen. For some time now Chicago has been abuzz with the possibility of hosting this international event. Our iconic skyline is decked out in the Olympic colors: blue, red, yellow, green, and black. Many buildings also have the Olympics tagline, “LET FRIENDSHIP SHINE” and Chicago’s own Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama have traveled to the capital of Denmark to help pitch the idea of having the greatest athletes compete in our backyard.  Mayor Daley and other constituents have been aggressively debated and discussed how Chicago could financially and spatially adapt to bring the great world event to the Windy City. With the economy and CTA infrastructure a concern, our lack of space is not. As conversations still continue on where specific construction and reconstruction may occur, IIT is in the midst of this dialogue as being a pivotal factor in helping sponsor this world circuit of mega events. Here are some formal ways, as President John Anderson has outlined, in how IIT and its students will benefit:

The university has executed three letters of intent or interest supporting the Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee bid.

1. IIT has committed to make available, at market prices, 500 beds of university housing for Olympics support personnel. Overall, IIT has more than 1,900 beds, and this commitment is considered appropriate and could be expanded at the discretion of the university in the future.

2. IIT has agreed to negotiate the potential use and rent of IIT facilities (classrooms, auditoriums, parking, athletic facilities, etc.). This is to be mutually agreed upon by both IIT and the Olympic Committee.

3. IIT has indicated a willingness to discuss the potential use by IIT of some of the housing to be constructed for the athlete Olympic Village, to be located off 31st Street at the existing Michael Reese campus.

The Chicago Olympic bid has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee. In addition, dozens of IIT faculty, staff, and students have participated on various Olympic planning committees, and volunteered in supporting efforts. In the fall semester, a student IPRO (learn more about IPRO’s here!) will be demonstrating concepts for sustainable portable modular housing, which could support Olympic athlete or support-personnel housing.

Informally, there are a few reasons why this will be significantly beneficial to the IIT community. First, our students will be at the epicenter of the remodeling stage of Chicago to prepare itself for the Olympics. The years leading up to the start of the Olympics will be the most important for research, preparation and construction. The opportunities for IIT students will be robust and their brilliant minds will be needed! Remember how cool the “birds nest” or the “water cube” looked at the Beijing Olympics? Imagine telling a future employer you participated in creating such essential structures!  Secondly, it will expose everyone to the international worldview that many people do not have a chance to witness. The Olympics would bring a flare of great exposure to students. Even if you can’t get your hands on a ticket, it would be monumental see the international crowds throughout the city. It is one thing to be near cultural neighborhoods but it’s another to see the unification of these cultures (imagine Chinatown!!)

So, the countdown is drawing to an end, and each day brings us closer to the edge of our seat in anticipation. We are up against some stiff competition with Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro but to be a finalist should make us proud to be a part of such a historic City. Whichever metropolis wins the bid, we must remember that the Olympics are just not about the sports, but rather it is about the celebration of life and its purpose….but  I’d just rather celebrate  in person down the street =).

Malhotra out!

PS: Get in the spirit at www.Chicago2016.org!