the WISE sponsoring societies select outstanding engineering students from among their members to participate in the nine-week WISE program in Washington, D.C. Students discover how government officials make decisions on complex technological issues, while also learning how engineers and scientists can contribute to the legislative process and regulatory decision-making.
WISE can be a life-changing experience, if you make it so. The knowledge and skills you acquire will help you succeed in your personal and professional life if you are willing to work hard and be open to new and unexpected learning opportunities. The program opens your eyes to non-traditional career paths and alternative ways of productively using your engineering education. The contacts you make with your fellow WISE Interns, your faculty advisor and mentors, and Washington decision-makers provide a valuable network if you use them effectively. The key to success in the program is personal responsibility and professional curiosity.
Testimonials from WISE program participants highlight these and other ways that the WISE program contributes to your personal and professional growth, as well as helps you play a leadership role in advancing the engineering profession, and promoting more effective science and technology policy, laws, and regulations at the national, state and/or local level.
Each year, the WISE interns’ research papers are published in the WISE Journal of Engineering and Public Policy, an electronic annual. WISE sponsoring societies may also publish the papers in their technical and professional journals, and/or they may distribute them through other means.