Join EPICS
EPICS is an academic program in which teams of Purdue students partner with local not-for-profit community organizations to provide technology solutions. This is a long-term partnership, which allows for more significant projects that may take two or more semesters to complete. EPICS projects are intended to solve real problems and are defined in consultation with project partners from not-for-profit community organizations. The best way to learn more about EPICS is to read about the different teams and the types of projects the teams are working on.
There are many benefits of participating in EPICS:
- Gain design experience of real systems
- Develop teamwork and communication skills
- Gain project planning and leadership experience
- Develop customer awareness
- Gain understanding of ethical, economic and legal issues
- Get involved in the community
- Have something to talk about in interviews
- Make a difference
Things to remember when registering for EPICS:
- Each EPICS team, which corresponds to a particular lab division, consists of a mix of first-year students, sophomores, juniors and seniors, many majoring in non-engineering fields such as education, liberal arts, science, health and human sciences, and technology.
- Students are expected to participate within a team and contribute to one or more projects for at least two consecutive semesters on campus, and students may participate multiple semesters.
- Each team has a scheduled two-hour lab time each week.
- All students must complete five Professional Development Hours per credit hour over the course of the semester. These can be completed through a range of live lectures and workshops or pre-recorded online modules.
- You receive academic credit (one or two credit hours per semester) for participating in EPICS. How academic credits are applied to your major depends on your degree program and is determined by your department and/or advisor.
EPICS Learning Community
For First-Year Engineering Students
The EPICS Learning Community builds a support community by offering first-year students three common classes with other EPICS learning community students, outside-of-class activities, the opportunity for a shared residence experience, and a formal mentoring experience. This combination helps students transition to Purdue, explore different engineering disciplines and find fulfilling career paths. College of Engineering students are encouraged to apply for combining participation in this learning community with the Women in Engineering Learning Community housed in Shreve Hall.
ENGR 13300 (Transforming Ideas to Innovation)
Courses
One of the core classes for the learning community is ENGR 13300 (Transforming Ideas to Innovation). The course introduces students to the engineering professions using multidisciplinary societally relevant content. Students will develop engineering approaches to systems, generate and explore creative ideas, and use quantitative methods to support design decisions. Students will experience the process of design and analysis in engineering including how to work effectively in teams and will develop skills in project management, engineering fundamentals, oral and graphical communication, logical thinking and modern engineering tools (e.g., Excel, Python, and MATLAB). An emphasis will be placed on computing logic development and builds upon the co-requisite experience of the students in the EPICS class.