Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP)

Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP), sponsored by the School of Engineering, this innovative program will help develop engineering and business skills while working in industry or in government. UPOP is a tremendous opportunity for government or business employers to engage an MIT engineering sophomore for 10-12 summer weeks without paying a fee.

Major employers participate because UPOP offers them access to the brightest engineering undergrads in the land without incurring any fees. Faculty advisors and sponsors participate because UPOP is a great way to maintain ties to industry, stay abreast of the latest trends firsthand, and foster greater student-faculty contact.

UPOP is an educational program made up of three sections:
(1) A intensive week of pre-employment "boot camp" during January's Independent Activities Period (IAP)
(2) Alumni Spring Career Seminar Series
(3) 10-12 weeks of summer employment
(4) Reflective Learning Experience

The mission of the program is to give undergraduate students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. The goal is to provide sophomores with the experiences and the understanding they'll need to transition into and succeed in the world outside the halls of academia.

Objectives of the Program -- The School of Engineering at MIT endeavors to educate and prepare students for leadership in industry, government, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. It wants to advance the knowledge base of the engineering professions and to influence the future directions of engineering education and practice. UPOP will help fulfill those objectives by providing students with the opportunities to apply their classroom learning in stimulating, real-world settings. Specifically, UPOP will:

(1) Provide broad student segments an opportunity to gain heightened awareness and appreciation of the realities of engineering practice.
(2) Help students define and obtain more meaningful off-campus summer job experiences and integrate these experiences with classroom learning.
(3) Enable departmental faculty to become more involved with student practice decisions and experiences.

Unique learning opportunities -- In addition to applying their technical skills, UPOP allows students to gain insight into the economic, legal, organizational, and business realities of today. Each student who successfully completes this innovative program will leave with a keener appreciation of the social, environmental, and ethical implications of the business decisions made each and every day. Students will also gain an appreciation of how the decisions they will make later in their careers will impact society at large. UPOP is not a traditional internship program. It is a program of intellectual and social self-awareness, where students will come to better understand their unique talents and skills and how to best utilize them.

The student will recruit a separate faculty sponsor if he/she elects to enter the fall UPOP Conference (UP-R) via a reflective paper and oral presentation. The final report and presentation is worth three units. The faculty sponsor, who may be from the student's home department or from across the School of Engineering, is responsible for evaluating the final oral and written reports. Academic advisors are encouraged, but not required, to serve as sponsors for their advisee. The UPOP IAP instructor assigns the final grade.