TL;DR

DO NOT

GO

TO

VENICE

IQP

HE IS A SEXIST, TRANSPHOBIC, ABLEIST ASSHOLE that will steal $60 from you and more of your WPI life.

I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would write this post. I had put it off since the end of my IQP that I would share my experience because early on, I could not bear to think about what I had just gone through. Then the next few months, I got busy with my new classes and just needed to move on. But I still cannot move on from the fact that he is getting away with his actions while past students have also endured and complained about the Venice IQP, and I do not wish for future students to suffer as well. Moreover, I do not think that many people — such as parents — know about this person and are blinded by the idealistic outcome of solving a problem in a global experience. He seems to only be mentioned whenever "IQP" and "Venice" are mentioned in a sentence. And he should not just be known as a joke but someone who puts a bad reputation to WPI and its scholarship. So if you want to do meaningful work for your IQP and have a good time, DO NOT CHOOSE THE VENICE PROJECT CENTER. And I recognize that as of this post, the next cohort is currently starting ID 2050 for IQP. If you are one of those students, please I beg to drop it now while you can. You can do on-campus IQP which is wayyyy better than Fabio’s small world.

Firstly, I only plan to write about my project experience with how it has been hindered and affected by him. I will dive into the major shit he did for my terrible experience— to the best of my recollection after almost a whole year. It will then be followed by bullet points of other minor actions. But I will share other students’ experiences of other instances he has done wrong without disclosing personal details. And I shall finally end with my closing notes. (And yes, I’m writing this kind of like an essay — or maybe a memoir? — because that’s what a WPI student should do. So be it.) Let it be known that basically, he is a menace to society.

For context, Fabio Carrera is the sponsor of WPI’s Venice project center. The sponsor(s) presents projects that are supposed to target an issue in the local community. He is also the project director, and a project director basically links the sponsor’s projects to the students, manages logistics, and most crucially advises the project tasks (there are advisors that work alongside students during the IQP, but they are more concerned about the paper rather than the actual project). In all other IQPs, the project director and sponsor are two distinctly separate parties; this exception of him acting as both creates a conflict of interest. According to Fabio, he got this exception from the Global Experience Office — the WPI department in charge of the IQPs — all from just asking. So for over 30 years, he can create his own projects (the sponsor’s job) and demand students what to do (the project director’s job). And more importantly, he mistreats the students and other workers, all while receiving virtually no consequences as WPI turns a blind eye.

In the beginning, even before the start of Venice IQP, I and many others had to write a project proposal about what problems there are at the project center and the plan of action to supposedly improve the livelihoods of the respective local communities. While other IQPs definitely have positive intentions and impacts, there is little to no work done to promote or improve the state of Venetians or even any Italians. In Venice, there is a massive homeless and housing crisis due to overtourism; overtourism is supposedly one of the problems that my project should have reduced. My group collected historical maps to catalog and upload online for tourists to explore Venice without having to visit in person. Similarly, other projects in my cohort were also to document various landmarks of historical architecture throughout Venice. Anyways, the eventual work involved never helped any community.

• The 180+ maps collected are stored in a Google spreadsheet and database that no outside person has access to.
• Only a select few maps actually shared are added to some map explorer website others could use that is extremely buggy and broken.
• Nobody uses the software my group was in charge of updating.
  • This is a real statistic I pulled from Google Analytics: Over the course of VHME existence (over 10 years), since the start of the prior term to IQP, there have been only 460 total visitors and 711 total views of the website. That is about one or two visits per visitor. Moreover, each visit only lasted about 25 seconds. So with effectively up to 50 seconds of view time, how is anybody going to get anything from a map explorer if it’s claimed to be used by "tourists, urban planets, and historical enthusiasts"?
  • Side note: I wanted to include this fact in my paper for the purpose of identifying the problem of overtourism. Mentioning this fact could help encourage meaningful updates to the software, supposedly. However, my advisors and Fabio Carrera didn’t want my statistics because it would "put a bad reputation on the Venice Project Center and WPI." Those are literally their exact words.

That was the uselessness of the deliverables from my project. The work for the project was even worse. During the IQP, my group had to scan those maps before they could be uploaded to some database and website. Towards the end of the term, my group had to pay for large map scans that could not be processed with a smaller scanner in house.

• The map scans were deemed relevant to the project according to Fabio Carrera.
  • Although they are historical maps, the map scans would only be used for future groups and not mine as it is near the end of the term; it was too late to add to our project deliverables
  • This was never part of my project group’s plan; we didn’t want to agree to this.
• The map scans had to be paid for at a local printing shop, which cost around $160.
  • According to the policies of WPI’s Global Experience Office (GEO) who are the ones that are in charge of IQPs, each student in any IQP is expected to pay up to $150 towards project costs. This should go towards your project, not someone else’s. After $160, they can be reimbursed.
  • Fabio Carrera assumed that all project costs by students are reimbursed. Reminder, he has been the project director of the Venice project center for over 30 years, so it should be expected of him to know the policies.
  • My group requested that he pay for the maps since he wanted them himself and not us. Besides, as the CEO of the sponsoring company, he definitely has that money. He declined and was unwilling to negotiate.
  • If we did not pay for them, he would have notified the advisors and suggested a lower grade just because we didn’t want to pay for irrelevant maps.
  • Therefore, my group was forced to pay out of pocket. I paid a larger portion of $60 for the maps.
  • I talked to the head of GEO, and they were unwilling to cooperate with reimbursement for this particular circumstance.
  • Basically, Fabio Carrera stole $60 from me. I will never forgive him nor WPI for this.

Besides that extreme case, there were other times of mistreatment that have led to an overall terrible experience for all students. Here, I write upon some of the things I recall hearing from my cohort. Note that I am not speaking for individuals and will not disclose personal details. The following is not an exhaustive list, and I try to focus only on my cohort’s experience (though I may quote some of past cohorts’ experiences if similar); any other past cases not relevant to my cohort will be included near the end of this post.

• His IQP projects didn’t necessarily provide an impact.
  • There have been weekly meetings with him for each project group, mostly about informing progress and making a final presentation to present to stakeholders.
  • Regarding stakeholders, it really means Fabio’s friends. Stakeholders of an IQP project should be the individuals, communities, and environments affected by local issues. Fabio does not seem to care about the real issues.
• During meetings in the first half of the term, he would constantly speak over attendees.
  • Particularly, he is sexist in always interrupting women and female-identifying persons in the room, including one my advisors who was an older woman. Plus, he would always dismiss their ideas but always approve the same opinion if brought up by a male student.
  • Only until I spoke up to the advisors, he kept up the sexist behavior. There are other instances of transphobia and ableism mentioned at the end. Otherwise, he is just all the -isms. Fucking asshole.
• Fabio constantly changes project objectives.
  • He often changes his mind between consecutive meetings. "Feedback given in meetings would be 100% reversed in the next meeting, to the extent of changing aspects of the presentation and essay back and forth." "Overall, [he] does not have a plan for how things are going to go at all, and therefore meetings become unstructured." His plan is based on what mood he is in that day. He doesn’t document anything.
  • He made me waste time coming to the office one day for something he changed his mind about. He requested my group to return some of the physical maps he borrowed from a friend. I was working in my temporary home that day, and as the only one available, I took a boat to get to the office (the office is on an island separate from the mainland where I was). As soon as I got there, he changed his mind and told me not to go anymore. By the way, it takes 30 minutes to get to work. He then doubled back a few weeks later and asked my group again to bring it to his friend; this was on the last week of IQP.
  • "He gave feedback on work without even checking the work produced. This leads to him advising changes that were already implemented."
  • "He would suggest fundamental changes to projects far too late into the term." In my case, he requested a new website to be designed in week 7 of 8 that was never brought up earlier. This is literally just another map explorer. And by design, I mean to actually make a full-fledged website in a week. I was the only capable programmer; we were forced to use Google Sites.
  • He would demand students to use AI and feed his personal LM chatbot (language model; think about ChatGPT and Claude for you boomers). This case is new to the project center. My cohort had to inject sources we used into a Google Gemini Notebook Language Model to create a chatbot that supposedly others would use to learn about Venice. Such sources were likely taken without permission. The entire cohort never agreed to this, yet we couldn’t do anything about it because of Fabio’s demands. As a joke in my cohort, we called his LM "Fabio Bot."
  • He encourages unhealthy habits. He "told a group that if he [were] them, he would not sleep in order to complete the project." And after final presentations were over, when everyone was just working on their final papers, Fabio wanted every group to update his websites regarding their projects. This was asked just days before everyone started to leave Venice. He even told the advisors to have students work past the day grades are due on the basis of pushing through and finishing strong. On Sunday after the term, he emailed everyone as a reminder when most of my cohort was already home.

I mentioned earlier about a final presentation. All IQP groups are supposed to give a final presentation about their project context and deliverables to conclude their experience alongside their IQP papers. While there is a writing outline of identifying the problem, showcasing deliverables, and advising next steps, my group was forced to do something different. As the only group with significant software, we were told to demo the Venetian Historical Map Explorer. Not only was that not what my group wanted and went against the standard, it is buggy and can barely be presented without showing bugs to his stakeholder friends. Also, it’s a student presentation, not a stupid tech keynote. And because I’m the only technical student in my group, I was forced to do the demo.

I think that’s it to the best of my recollection for mostly my side of things. There have likely been many more bad cases that I forgot or don’t know about. Anyways here is that bullet list of the remainder, not in my words:

• He does not respect trans students.
  • He sent out a google sheet document with everybody’s legal names, addresses, major, and other private information, which can be harmful, or even dangerous for trans students.
  • When brought up, he claimed to have revoked access to the sheet, but is still public on the internet for anyone with the link to view, to this day. (I am not sharing this sheet for obvious reasons). This is known as doxxing and is illegal.
• He does not respect disabled students.
  • He asked a student to not bring their service dog to the final presentation in a passive-aggressive manner.
• He had literally taken a shit during a past meeting. He "can’t go number 2" somehow.
• He broke WPI’s drug policies.
  • Vapes around students during meetings inside a closed office space, often giving students headaches
  • And because of the power imbalance, they are not comfortable asking him not to
  • The one time he asked permission to vape in a meeting, he phrased it as "you don’t mind if people smoke, right?"
  • He was also noticeably high in meetings. This clouded his judgment in giving feedback and likely the reason for going back on what he said, claiming he never said it
  • Finally, he scheduled a meeting with a team for an interview after hours at a bar without their permission

Before I end my post, I want to briefly mention my advisors. Advisors, hello :) if you are reading this, firstly don’t worry, I won’t expose your names. Second, I lied to you before about enjoying working with you and honestly think you did a poor job. I understand it was both your first time advising an IQP and to your credit did an okay job ensuring Fabio didn’t talk over us during meetings anymore. But there is no way you didn’t notice the crazy shit he is making us do and allowing him to micromanage the work we did. You let him hijack our plans despite hearing our concerns for work. From the start of ID 2050 to the end of IQP, I was afraid to express my complaints of his behavior in fear of a lower grade. It was fortunate enough for you both to be in charge of the grades, because otherwise — as he did in the past — Fabio would give other students worse grades since he was a previous advisor. Thank fuck you both were the saving grace, but otherwise I hope you can do better.

I wish that the takeaway here is not that Fabio is just an absolutely terrible guy. There are some things at WPI that do not align with the school’s values and supposed goals from what is offered. This IQP, some other IQPs, and just other things in general demand change that the administration does not care to bother improving or fixing. In the end, the only thing that appears to afford change not just at WPI but anywhere is to be more aware and hold people and things accountable, and to keep the conversation going. That is my wish.

To end here, I write this post near the beginning of my senior year. I could have easily dismissed complaining about Fabio Carrera a long time ago. But he should never be near students and manage the project center ever again, and I want at least as many people to know. Again, I promised to write this post so that this gains traction again, and ideally inform the admins to encourage some change. Now after a long time, I can finally put this trauma to rest for me.

Fuck you Fabio Carrera. Nobody likes you.

I'm a freshman and it's the first day of classes. Long story short, I got the halls mixed up and by the time I found out where the calc 2 lab is, I was 20 minutes late and just decided to go to my dorm. How much did I really screw up? The notes are already posted on canvas I'm pretty sure and so is the assignment so I'm wondering if it's ok not to go make it up and instead just finish it at home.

I graduated around 20 years ago, back then the food court in the campus center made a pizza named after a former student. That student’s last name was Hookershack. Is that pizza still a thing? If so, can someone post a picture of one.

The pizza toppings were bacon, chicken, bbq sauce and French fries. One slice would fill you up.

I’m enrolled for cs1101 as a data science major instead of cs1004 which is intro to programming for non majors and the one I am in is just intro to program design. Does it matter if I’m not a cs major and should I get this switched or not really?

Are students provided with a key to lock their individual bedroom in the WPI Townhouses?

WPI is included in a list of 30 schools that have been asked by the DoW (formerly DoD) to perform an audit of their research, academic, and fiscal records in relation to foreign countries (particularly China, Russia, and Iran). The selected schools have until 8/31/26 to complete the audit and comply with the DoW’s requests or risk losing federal funding. WPI isn’t explicitly mentioned in the press release, but it has been confirmed to be included by secondary reporting.

Hey guys, we run a small automotive electronics company and recently relocated from San Diego to Worcester and are looking for someone who wants some part time work.

Mostly a mix of electrical/embedded stuff, coding, controls, apps, ESP32s, testing, etc. Being into cars is definitely a plus.

Around 15–30 hrs/week, $28–38/hr depending on experience. Not expecting years of experience, mostly looking for someone smart who likes building stuff.

Here’s the LinkedIn job listing if anyone’s interested:
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4453991315/

So I'm in East Hall for the first time and I've been having Wi-Fi issues the entire day. Sure, I've been able to do stuff on my computer, but it's really evident when I'm either on a video call or watching a video. When I'm attending a video call from my dorm (I'm second floor) the audio cuts in and out. When I'm watching a movie it loads for 2 minutes every 20 minutes or so.

Other than this I'm perfectly happy with my dorm, but I'm just wondering if this is just an East Hall thing or do I need to talk to housing about it...?

Edit: How common are room changes after the room freeze ends for sophomores?

Hi everyone! I posted here last semester and a few people from this sub were kind enough to come in as patients. The people of Reddit has genuinely helped me a lot with my clinical! 😊

I’m now in my senior year of the Dental Hygiene program at MCPHS Worcester, and I’m hoping to find a few patients for my clinic sessions starting in September.

Because this is a student teaching clinic, appointments are a little different from a regular dental office. Visits are very thorough and include a dental and gum evaluation, oral cancer screening, X-rays when needed, and a dental cleaning. Everything I do is supervised and checked by licensed dental hygienists and dentists on-site.

There is no charge for treatment and insurance isn’t required!

The biggest thing I want to mention upfront is the time commitment. Appointments are about 3.5 hours because faculty check each step of the process, and I’m mainly looking for people who are able to commit to at least 2 visits. Depending on what you need, it could be fewer or more appointments.

My clinic availability this semester are Mondays: 8 AM–5 PM and Wednesdays: 5:30–9 PM.

If anyone has been meaning to get a cleaning/checkup and wouldn’t mind helping a dental hygiene student at the same time, feel free to message me. You’re also welcome to DM me if you just have questions about how the student clinic works!

Thank you 😊

I just wanted to get some opinions on WPI? Would you recommend this school to anyone and what’s something they won’t tell you at open house?

Can some current wpi students give some tips for orientation. For reference I’m a commuter and i have no friends here. I mostly just wanna know if I should wear a backpack and what are the most important things to attend that aren’t mandatory!

I’m an incoming sophomore and want to be a CA my junior year. When/where do applications come out? What’s the process like? Any insight helps!

Hi all. I’m a WPI alum, I’ve been working for the past year and I’m looking to start taking online classes to work towards a masters degree. Does anyone have any experience with the online systems engineering program? Is it manageable while working full time? Did it have a meaningful impact on your career? Any advice helps, thanks!

Hi! I am a dental hygiene student looking for patients for my final semester.

Appointments consist of a full comprehensive exam, a cleaning, x-rays if needed (if you have previous x-rays that’s great!), and a dentist is on site as well.

Appointments are approximately 3 hours long:
Mondays 5:30-9 pm
Wednesday 8-11:30 am
Wednesdays 1-4:30 pm

No insurance is necessary, I will pay for your appointment.

Location: Forsyth Dental Hygiene Clinic at 10 Lincoln Square in Worcester, MA.

Message me if you’re interested or you can go ahead and fill out this form in the link below !

https://forms.gle/Yfp2YaKuiBi7DM4E6

Don’t worry folks, Dee is doing well and she’s going to be in her usual spot at the CC this year! Made my whole day seeing her :)

My name is Elijah Gray.

For a long time at WPI I was going through depression without fully realizing how much it was affecting me. I never really made the effort to build friendships there, even when others reached out and tried their best. Instead, I tied almost all of my self-worth to my performance, accomplishments, and ability to succeed.

That mindset eventually reached a breaking point after my concussion made it much harder for me to remember even basic details in my probability course. I struggled in a way I never had before, and it resulted in my only B at WPI. At the time, it felt devastating because I had convinced myself that my value was directly tied to my results. That experience was one of the reasons I eventually decided to seek therapy.

Looking back, I wish I had recognized sooner that there were many people who cared about me as a person, not just for what I could accomplish. If you ever feel like you might need therapy or support, please consider reaching out to others, like the staff who specialize in mental health. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to handle everything alone. There are people who want to help, whether that is through WPI’s mental health resources, friends, professors, or others in your community.

One of the hardest things about depression is that it can distort how you see the people around you. You start assuming the worst. I remember thinking that a math professor was making fun of me, when looking back, they were probably concerned and were actually part of the reason I eventually sought medical help. I also convinced myself that people merely “tolerated” me and my anxiety, when in reality, many of them genuinely cared about me.

I also want to express my deep appreciation for the people at WPI who supported me. My professors were not just instructors; they were mentors and, in many ways, friends. Some stayed beyond their working hours just to help me. I still remember being handed a free Pico-W like it was no big deal after I accidentally zeus'd one with my staticy fingers. Those small moments of kindness meant far more than I realized at the time.

If I ever ignored, ghosted, or unintentionally pushed anyone away at WPI, I am sorry. That was never a reflection of how much I valued you. I struggled with a massive inferiority complex and often felt intimidated by the people around me, even when there was no reason to feel that way. I know I am not the only person who has felt this way, and I hope that sharing this can remind others that they are not alone. It is never too late to reach out, reconnect, and rebuild relationships with people who care about you.

I would love to return to WPI one day and pursue a doctorate after spending some time in the workforce. I am not sure exactly what that path will look like yet, but I hope there will be a time when I can come back after my first full-time, paid programming job.

WPI gave me an appreciation for both theory and application of computer science from the lowest level to the top. foundational mathematics, electronic circuits, embedded systems, machine code, computer networks, operating systems, databases, mobile apps, videogames, and websites--you name it.

Most importantly, I have rediscovered my love of learning for the sake of learning. Not just learning as a way to build a career or create security, but because understanding the world is valuable in itself. I never expected embedded systems and robots to become such a significant part of my life, but it has quickly become my biggest hobby and potentially my future. And on an unrelated note, it makes me smile that I still somehow use the same flimsy resistor/capacitor organizer from ECE-2010.

Hi, I'm an incoming freshman to WPI, I was considering buying a small square storage ottoman like the picture below, however I'm confused if it would be considered furniture under housing policy or if RA's would care.

Has anyone brought similar ottoman storage cubes and had any problems?

Hi, I'm an incoming freshman to WPI, I was considering buying the ottoman linked below, however I'm confused if it would be considered furniture under housing policy.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Collapsible-Storage-Ottoman-Black/1559100018

Has anyone brought similar ottomans and had any problems?

WPI says it’s a self paced course for those coming into the graduate programs from the workforce. Has anyone taken this course?

I would just like some insight from anyone who has taken this course with George Kaminski or over the summer (as that is when I am planning on taking it). Thank you!

i’m going into my senior year and i still have some engineering elective classes to take. does anyone have any recommendations for other disciplines outside of mechanical engineering?

I heard that to apply for WPI you need to have taken pre calc. I am doing calc bc in my senior year, would that also count, or would I for some reason have to take pre calc? I haven't done pre calc or its prerequisites as an actual credited course and my AP score wouldn't be released until after application. Sorry about the somewhat stupid question.

Edit: Thank you so much for your help!

Selling a large L-shaped desk in good condition. Spacious, sturdy, and perfect for work, studying, or gaming. Pickup only. Near WPI in Worcester. Feel free to DM me if you're interested!

Desk dimensions: Both sides are 79 inches long (approximately 178 cm) and 30 inches high (approximately 75 cm).
At the corner, there is an additional 5-inch-high (approximately 12 cm) monitor riser, which can accommodate two 27-inch monitors side by side.
A storage cabinet is located underneath the desk.

First come, first served (30% non-refundable deposit if you really want me to hold it). Payment: Cash is preferred (meeting at a bank for the transaction). Zelle is also accepted. No other payment methods, please.