News 2015: 60+ first-year engineering students arrive to UMass Dartmouth campus for Freshman Summer Institute

First-year engineering students work with other new freshmen, faculty, and student teaching assistants on a week-long engineering project

More than 60 first-year engineering students have arrived on the UMass Dartmouth campus this week for the University's annual Freshman Summer Institute (FSI). FSI is a week-long, residential program for new engineering students providing a bridge between high school and college. The annual program has been organized by UMass Dartmouth's College of Engineering since 2002. 

Students brush up on subjects such as algebra, trigonometry, and geometry by seeing how these are used to solve engineering and science problems. They participate in workshops to gain experience in teamwork, leadership, time management, and engage in team problem-solving. The first-year engineering students work with other new freshmen, faculty, and student teaching assistants on a week-long engineering project. At the end of the week they present the results of their work to their colleagues and UMass Dartmouth faculty at a poster session. 

Students will work on their projects in the University's labs and classrooms within the Science and Engineering building, the Dion building, and the Bioengineering labs located in the Textile building. Each evening through Thursday will feature an after dinner industry speaker. The speaker will share stories from the world of engineering. 

UMass Dartmouth distinguishes itself as a vibrant public university actively engaged in personalized teaching and innovative research, and acting as an intellectual catalyst for regional economic, social, and cultural development. UMass Dartmouth's mandate to serve its community is realized through countless partnerships, programs, and other outreach efforts to engage the community, and apply its knowledge to help address local issues and empower others to facilitate change for all.