Students

Develop Technical and Organizational Leadership and Other Professional Skills in VIP

VIP provides the time and context for you to gain deeper insights into your field of study, to learn and practice professional skills, to make substantial contributions to real-world projects, and to become proficient in different roles on teams. In VIP, you will learn to integrate and apply knowledge from your coursework and have the opportunity to develop critical professional skills, including oral and written communication, technical coordination, project management, independent learning, leadership, and information literacy.

The long-term nature of VIP creates an inclusive environment of mentorship, with faculty and graduate students guiding teams, experienced students mentoring new students and moving into leadership roles as others graduate. Although registration for multiple semesters is not required (except for Learning Community and Senior Design Students), you will gain the most from VIP if you participate for multiple semesters and/or years.

Teams:

Each team is structured uniquely to fit the individual projects, and thus have different expectations related to goal of the team and prior knowledge and skills. Check out the teams link to find the team(s) that align with your interests.

Registration:

Course numbers, CRN codes, and instructions on how to register can be found here.  Please note that VIP must be taken for a letter grade.  It cannot be taken P/NP.

Purchasing Guidelines:

Reimbursement Requests

You will not be reimbursed for items that you purchase on your own. Use the procedure below instead to incur in personal expenses.

Purchase Request Forms

  • Complete the Purchase Request Form
  • A separate request form is required for EACH vendor.
  • All Purchase Request Forms must be submitted to vip_wl@purdue.edu by the team Faculty Mentor or Graduate Mentor noting approval for the purchase to be initiated.
  • If there are any questions or issues with the request, a message will be sent via Teams. Please respond promptly to minimize delays.
  • Overseas vendors are strongly discouraged as shipping fees can be extremely costly to your team, and delivery times can be lengthy.
  • You will receive an email when the item has arrived and is ready to be picked up from ARMS 1200. 

Instructions for Completing the Purchasing Order

  • Denote shipping delivery location
  • Clearly indicate team and purpose of purchase
  • Submit the itemized receipt and packing slip once the item(s) arrive

Local Vendor Purchases 

If you plan to make a purchase at a local vendor in-person, please indicate on the purchase request form that you would like to check out a credit card and what date you would like to use the card. Once approved you may check out a credit card following procedures below for your campus.

Credit Card Checkout

  • Check out the credit card in the office, when ready to go to the vendor.
    • Indianapolis - ET 101A
    • West Lafayette - ARMS 1200
  • Please return the card PROMPTLY with the receipt.
  • Credit card MUST be used between 8am & 5pm weekdays only, unless special permission has been given.
  • Must have a separate purchase request for EACH vendor.
  • Purdue is tax exempt, and tax should not be paid.

Course Documents and other info:

Contact us:

  • General email: VIP, West Lafayette (vip underscore WL at purdue dot edu)
  • General email: VIP, Indianapolis (vip underscore Indy at purdue dot edu)
  • Dr. Carla Zoltowski, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director (cbz at purdue dot edu)
  • Cyndi Lynch, Vertically Integrated Projects, Assistant Director (clynch at purdue dot edu)