MIT – Problem Sets = IAP! by Melis A. '08

Today marks the beginning of the glorious month known as IAP, which stands for Independent Activities Period. From January 8th to February 2nd, MIT students get the chance to enjoy everything that MIT has to offer, without worrying about problem sets, tests, and papers. For more info about IAP, check out my entry from last year.

As Bryan wrote, there is a dizzying number of activities to choose from. For example, I could hypothetically follow this schedule tomorrow:
7:00-8:00 AM: Group exercise at the gym
10:00-11:00 AM: An Introductory Course to MATLAB
11:00-12:00 PM: Baseball (Art of Hitting)– “Learn the fundamentals of how to hit a baseball which is considered to be one of the most difficult hand-eye coordination skills.”
12:00-1:00 PM: History and Mystery of the Tarot– Taught by our very own Daniel Barkowitz! “Explore the history, origin, use and art of the Tarot.”
2:00-4:00 PM: Leadership Under Fire– “This seminar explores crisis leadership challenges. Scholars and practitioners debate the nature, form and tools of effective leadership, but what happens when stakes dramatically rise, information becomes scarce and unreliable, and the time and scope of action contract? Are conventional leadership tools still the right tools, or is crisis leadership fundamentally different?”
5:00-6:00 PM: Breakdance 101– “A free class taught by legendary breaker and professional dance instructor Bboy Mac. Learn the fundamentals of breakin’.”
6:00-8:00 PM: Build Your Own Loudspeakers– a class offered by the Hobby Shop

Whew, I’m exhausted even thinking about it! In all seriousness, this IAP I will be…
– Working on my UROP in the BioInstrumentation Lab: Hopefully I’ll get some cool experiments done and begin writing a paper for publication!
– Writing a module for the soon-to-be-launched OpenLabWare website (it’s like OpenCourseWare but for lab work. I’ll be blogging about it in a week or two.)
– Taking an Advanced Technique swim class
– Going to some seminars, including a lecture series sponsored by the Clinical Research Center
– Playing in the snow (if weather ever permits…we need another snow storm, like IAP two years ago (see image below)!)

Another great thing about IAP is that students can even offer their own classes. The breakdancing and loudspeaker classes that I mentioned above are both taught by MIT undergraduates. One of the amazing things about being at the Institvte is that there are so many people who are passionate about the most randomly awesome things, and they can’t wait to share their enthusiasm with you!