ME/MET Capstone Design Project Sponsorship

The joint Mechanical Engineering /Mechanical Engineering Technology Capstone Experience provides senior students in the ME & MET disciplines with outstanding undergraduate research and design opportunities, representative of the type of work to be encountered during their engineering careers. Capstone students face real-world challenges as they work through the numerous phases of engineering design: project definition, background investigation, specification development, alternatives generation and evaluation, engineering analysis, computer modeling, prototype fabrication, and performance evaluation & testing. Project management skills and interpersonal communication skills are developed and exercised throughout the duration of each project.  Every ME and MET student gains this experience since “Capstone” is a mandatory course sequence for all ME and MET students at MSU.

Each Semester, a need exists for dozens of new student Capstone projects. Candidate projects can come from companies, individuals, university researchers, and other sources.  The process is initiated prior to each semester, when projects from industry and academia are collected and vetted. ME and MET senior students are presented with the list of approved projects at the beginning of their first Capstone term, and make their requests for assignment to projects that interest them: A sorting process occurs, and students are placed in project teams (usually 3-4 students) which remain intact through the two-semester course sequence.

Depending on the character of the project, it is possible and often desirable to form interdisciplinary teams that include students from Electrical Engineering, Physics, Architecture, Business, etc. Team progress is monitored by a faculty advisor or advisors assigned to mentor each group, and by the course instructor(s) who help to guide groups to a successful design.

Objectives for students:

• a project experience representative of real-world engineering practice
• the challenge of synthesizing & extending their knowledge & abilities into unfamiliar areas
•  a chance to apply their engineering coursework in solving real engineering problems
• an opportunity to develop project management and communication skills
• experience with and an appreciation for all phases and activities of project work, from conceptual design through planning and scheduling, analysis, modeling, drawing preparation, manufacturing, assembly, testing,
• thorough documentation of results, creating a lasting record of their work

Objectives for Sponsors:

• an opportunity to develop concepts for new products or address challenges
• a chance to investigate and solve problems that might otherwise go unaddressed due to lack of internal resources
• satisfaction with helping to train tomorrow's engineers for future industrial employment – possibly even with the sponsoring company!
• enthusiastic and energetic help taking a fresh look at challenges
• a means to tap into student's growing abilities with modern engineering tools and software
• an introduction to MSU's technical capabilities via collaboration with student teams and with engineering faculty - most of whom are registered professional engineers with industrial experience and unique skill-sets

The ideal Senior Design Project is one that solves a real engineering problem while meeting the expectations of all involved parties. As a Senior Design Project sponsor, you can play a crucial role in the project's success by choosing the appropriate project and assisting in project administration. 

 

Sponsoring a Senior Design Project at MSU begins with a problem you need solved or a challenge pertinent to your organization. Referring to these guidelines, you will formulate a brief written project description. (Example project descriptions are available upon request.) Projects will be individually reviewed, and modifications may be suggested so that the projects meet course objectives, have appropriate scope, and provide a real - but achievable! - challenge for students.   

 

Once the basic task and scope is determined, proposed projects are added to a list available to students: Students review the list, self-nominate for inclusion on projects that interest them, and are sorted onto teams by the instructor(s). Once a student team is assembled for your project you will work closely with the students and their faculty advisor in developing the project administration details and ‘deliverables’ that will lead to a successful outcome.

ME and MET Senior students may begin their 2-term capstone sequence either in the Fall term (with completion Spring Semester), or they can begin in Spring term (with completion in the Fall).  Project proposal documents must be received by the capstone course instructor by mid-August prior to a Fall project offering, or by mid-December for a Spring start. Sponsors are expected to be in regular communication with the student group during project execution, and should plan to participate in informal and scheduled, formal reviews of project work.

• Provide a project that is based on a problem you really want to solve, one that will directly benefit your organization.

• Provide a project that combines a judicious amount of design, analysis, experimentation, development, and communication.  Other important considerations include economics, safety, and ethics.  A working prototype that can be tested for function is a requirement of the course, so please choose a project in which a prototype can be built and tested in a meaningful way. (Prototypes can be sub-scale versions, or even partial assemblies, if that provides useful information.)

• Provide a project that produces a tangible result, a result that can be seen, felt, heard, displayed -- a result that "does something."  We do entertain some ‘trade study’ type projects where the only outcome is a report, but be aware that these are generally less popular among students and provide a somewhat different (and sometimes less beneficial) experience for engineering student participants.

• Provide a project that can be completed during the academic year (< 30 weeks).  A reasonable expectation for time input is around 500 - 1000 person-hours to finish up the project. 

• Provide a project that offers students an opportunity to work both independently and as part of a team.

• Provide a project that can stand alone, one that is not tied crucially to any other project or process.
• Provide a project that minimizes the need to deal with sensitive, proprietary, or confidential information. These types of projects are taken on now and then, but they add complexities that are difficult for students to deal with in a university setting.  If these issues must be considered, they should be completely worked out before the project starts. Please realize that a university environment is probably not the best venue for keeping information confidential! Capstone is presently unable to undertake any projects involving national security interests or classified information.

• Empower the design group to explore and investigate multiple, innovative and creative solutions to the problem(s) posed. This is not the time for micro-management: If you already know exactly how you want the problem solved and require nothing but cheap student labor, the Capstone experience is not the proper place to seek support.

• Provide a project that can be given adequate institutional commitment. Although the project may not be absolutely crucial to your organization, it is important to the student's successful completion of their degree program. If it is apparent that you’re not really interested in results, the students will be unlikely to perform at their maximum capability.

• Appoint an individual as the student’s point contact, to meet and/or communicate regularly with the design team.  Expect this liaison to spend ~ one hour/week on the project.  Good communication is a key to insuring that there are no surprises, and that everyone's expectations are being met. (Avoid multiple or changing points of contact with the design team; those situations often result in conflicting advice and confusion!)

• Provide a liaison with the skills and temperament to interact with a student group. Recent graduates seem especially tuned in to the student lifestyle and experience!

• Provide a liaison with the authority to make immediate decisions if problems arise.

• It is desirable to provide the project team with a tour of your facilities, allow them to meet key personnel, and feel part of your team.

• Plan on working together with the student team as they develop a “Deliverables Statement” also known as ‘Level 1 Requirements”:  In this document, everyone (you, the students, and the faculty supervisor) will approve (in writing) the problem statement and the deliverables to be provided by the projects’ end.