Each year, the Department of Engineering and Technology at Western Carolina University launches a two semester Capstone Project course for undergraduate seniors. Capstone Projects allow students to integrate engineering training and project management skills. This course is multi-disciplinary – mixing students from all three of the University’s programs (electrical engineering, computer engineering and engineering technology).  During the course student teams tackle open-ended, real-world problems on behalf of industry partners. In addition to the course instructor, each team is provided a faculty mentor to help guide the project. To satisfy the academic goals of the course, projects should have the following characteristics:

• Be open-ended requiring evaluation of multiple solutions;
• Be complex and challenging requiring innovative problem-solving approaches; and
• Have sufficient scope that would require a team approach.

The University has found that most companies have more projects on their development list than they have resources to pursue, and these often make excellent and challenging Capstone projects. WCU invites industry partners to evaluate development needs and nominate topics that would provide benefit to your company. The requirements from private industry sponsors include:

• A team sponsorship fee of $2,500 plus materials unique to your project;
• A willingness to provide an active company mentor to the team; and
• Participate in periodic design reviews as the customer (At your site or at WCU).

If interested in participating or sponsoring a Capstone Project  please contact Patrick Gardener at [email protected] or 828-227-2435. To meet scheduling needs please contact the University as soon as possible. Topics and a general assignments are typically solidified by mid-June.

Outline for topic proposals:

• Company name and point of contact
• Title of project
• Problem statement (one paragraph describing the problem and what is needed)
• List of known requirements or constraints (size, weight, power, cost, performance specifications, operating conditions, etc.)
• Milestones and deliverables