On project-based learning through the vertically-integrated projects program

Georgia Tech's Colleges of Engineering and Computing initiated the Vertically-Integrated Projects (VIP) program in January 2009. Undergraduate students that join VIP teams earn academic credit for participating in design efforts that assist faculty and graduate students with research and development issues in their technical areas. The teams are: multidisciplinary - drawing students from around the university; vertically-integrated - maintaining a mix of sophomores through PhD students each semester; and long-term - each undergraduate student may participate in a project for up to six semesters. We describe the Video and Image Annotation VIP (VIA-VIP) project, which provides undergraduates unique opportunities to learn and apply state-of-the-art video-mining algorithms by processing a large archive of football videos recorded from GT football games. Their results are documented. Based on their feedback we believe the VIA-VIP course is on track to meet the needs of undergraduates in areas they don't usually see in the traditional undergraduate classroom.