Rupak Dua, won the UGS Provost Award for Graduate Student Engagement, one of the prestigious award that is given to one graduate student once a year.
The UGS Provost Award for Graduate Student Engagement recognizes nominees who have, in conjunction with graduate faculty, demonstrated significant local, regional, or global community engagement initiative(s) with a community partner that has led to demonstrable community impacts
Rupak Dua, started an initiative for an educational outreach program with Miami West Middle School under the guidance of his club faculty advisor Dr Anthony McGoron, and with the help of Stephanie Strange who is the director of the Office of Student Access and Success in engineering center, FIU. This program took a great shape in Feb,2013. Rupak along with his fellow colleague (Vishal Rampershad) went to middle school and organized their club first workshop, with around 120 small children listening to us with all their dreams in their eye. The main aim for their workshop was to make them aware of higher education and make students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
Other than this program, Rupak has in the past have participated in community events such as the “Susan G Komen Race” to benefit cancer research, and the “Cystic Fibrosis Walk”, American heart association walk. Every year, at engineering campus of FIU organizes The Engineering expo at engineering center. As a part of this expo school students are given a tour of FIU labs, and they are shown the miracles of engineering that make them interested not only in engineering but also in the field of sciences. Rupak have been working as an ambassador for the past 5 years and worked in the spirit of motivating these students to strive for something extraordinary.
Rupak is an organ donor and has always try to participate in the medical research where they need human volunteers to conducts experiment to benefit the community as a whole.
He has been actively involved in the events held in the department and is the president of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, who recently won the overall outstanding organization award at FIU.
UGS was impressed by his engagement in all these activities at a graduate level, so he was awarded with the Provost award.
Once again congratulations to Rupak Dua.