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This page presents the 2006 Class Project, followed by the 2005 Class Project.

The 2006 class project builds off the concept for the 2005 project, growing from independent student reports and interviews into one coherent newsletter of information and insights, entitled Perspective. Students wrote articles on bioengineering opportunities at MIT and interviewed faculty and staff members about their different paths to careers in bioengineering. Each student's contribution makes up part of a vibrant newsletter, complete with photographs and a crossword puzzle, which should be useful to any student interested in learning about careers in the field.

2006 Issue of Perspective (PDF - 1.8 MB) (Each article herein is courtesy of the student author and used with permission.)

The class project is a report on the opportunities for biomedical research at MIT, as seen through the eyes of students in the early stage of academic studies at the Institute. Organized and written by the members of 22.A09, Freshman Advisor Seminar on Career Options in Biomedical Research, and 22.013 Undergraduate Seminar in Nuclear Science and Engineering, this Perspective is a record of the presentations and discussions that took place during the Fall semester of 2005. It is intended to be useful for any prospective students, or students in general, interested in a glimpse of the myriad of activities and programs available at the Institute, and the process of personal growth that can result from the seminar experience.

A new president, Dr. Susan Hockfield, was inaugurated at MIT in the spring of 2005. One of her first actions in office is to convene a Student Advisory Board (SAB) to undertake an assessment of MIT from the student perspective. The SAB report, released in April 2005, is a document worthy of attention by anyone who has an interest in MIT.

Entitled MIT in Transition - Student Perspectives on MIT's Legacy Strengths, Emerging Challenges, and Future Directions, this document is the inspiration for a new class project. The idea is to copy this process of empowering the students to undertake a broad-based assessment of a very diverse organization and come to some understanding of its evolution in a continually changing environment. To do anything, the students must not be afraid to ask simple but fundamental questions, and demand the answers be given in understandable terms for the constituents of the organization - the students. In our class, we ask the students to examine not an institution, but a diverse collection of activities and programs pertaining to many aspects of biomedical research. The challenge to the students, again, is not to be intimidated or overwhelmed, rather to dig in and make some sense of the confusing scene. It is an experiment in a real sense, no one knew what to expect from this exercise. In any case we pushed on early in the semester and ask the students to try it.

Charge to the Class: Thoughts on the Term Project (PDF)

The 2005 project consisted of two parts: the students' perspectives on emerging directions in biomedical research as presented by guest speakers; and the students' biographical statements. These files are courtesy of the student authors and are used with permission.

Students' biographical statements:

• Bruck Assefa (PDF )
• Monica Crespo (PDF)
• Daon Ha (PDF)
• Xin He (PDF)
• Minwah Leung (PDF)
• Sara Rubenstein (PDF)
• Justin Tan (PDF)
• Cathy Zhang (PDF)