Arranging Projects and Teams

To Arrange or NOT to Arrange?

Depending on your situation, you may wish to 1) arrange your own project for the course or 2) be assigned a project from a list of prearranged projects. Prearranged projects are developed by the course coordinators, who connect with industry sponsors, researchers, community members, and students to solicit project ideas. As a student, you are not required to arrange your own project for the course, but it is a great way to tailor your senior design experience to your interests and strengths. Please read below to learn more about how you can arrange a project and/or team for the course.

Arranging a Project

Project Possibilities

We strongly encourage you to develop your own project for the course. You can do this as an individual or as a team. If you think you have an idea for a project, the first step is to reach out to the course coordinators. They can help you refine your idea and make all the necessary connections to develop the project for the course. A list of typical project categories is provided below. These should help guide you when developing your own project.

• Industry Projects.

  If you have enjoyed working as a coop or intern with a company that might be interested in sponsoring a project, please reach out to the course coordinators as soon as possible. There are details to work through (e.g., scope, funding, IP/NDA, etc.), but this is a great way to keep ties to a company that you’re interested in and that might be interested in hiring you. Feel free to use the template email at the end of this page when reaching out to potential industry partners.

• Competitions

  If you have worked on a competition team in the past and think there might be a project within the larger scope of the competition that you could work on as part of the ME 351/352 course, please reach out to the course coordinators. We work on several of these every year and they fit into the course quite well: WiscWind, Wisconsin Robotics, WISP, Baja, Formula, Badger Solar Racing, etc.

• Entrepreneurial Projects

  If you have an idea for an entrepreneurial project, please read about the Borgen Design Competition. If you are interested in this option, please reach out to the course coordinators as soon as possible. We can help you refine your idea and define and scope the project so that it fits well into the course. PLEASE NOTE, the Borgen Design Competition requires you to form a team before submitting an application. If you have an idea and are looking to connect with other interested students, please see the Arranging a Team section below.

• Research Projects

  If you are working with a professor in their lab, there may be opportunities to develop a design project based on your work. Please reach out to them to generate project ideas and work out details. When you have an idea of what you would like to pursue, please reach out to the course coordinators so that we can make sure it fits into the course.

• Community Service

  If you have an idea for a community service project, or have community contacts with an idea, don’t hesitate to reach out. Funding and safety for community service projects are not always straightforward. The course coordinators can help you evaluate these concerns and determine whether the project is a good fit for the course. Note that the Borgen Design Competition does support community service projects.

Developing a Project

No matter which option above you pursue, if you wish to develop a project for the course you will need to reach out to a course coordinator to make sure the project is suitable and to iron out details. Projects for the course are typically finalized at least three weeks before the course starts and developing a suitable idea can take several iterations to coordinate between relevant parties, so it’s always best to reach out sooner rather than later. Project ideas need to be in the works by July 15th, but the sooner the better. To be considered “in the works,” email the course coordinators your intentions and arrange a meeting. Begin your subject line with “ME 351/352.”

When developing an idea for a project, keep the following in mind:

• In this course you will use a human-centered design process. That is, you will be designing a solution to a client’s need. Make sure the project client is well-defined and has a clear unmet need. Typical clients include industry partners, researchers, community members, and product end-users in the case of entrepreneurial projects.
• Scope the project for four students over two semesters. This can be difficult. It helps to break down the project into its major components or systems. A good project is large enough so that each student is responsible for one of these major components or systems. In addition, the work must allow for multiple solutions, optimization, and design tradeoffs.
• Determine how the project will be funded. Industry projects must be funded by the industry partner. Competition projects are typically funded by the competition team. Select entrepreneurial and community service projects are funded by the Borgen Design Competition. And Research projects are funded by the research lab.
• Determine who will own the intellectual property (IP), if any, developed during the project. It is best to avoid projects with IP when possible, but ownership must be clearly defined. Industry partners seeking IP agreements must use the standard NDA/IP-Assignment document for the course. Alterations to this document are not permitted.

Arranging a Team

Team Possibilities

If you would like to form a team before the course begins, you are encouraged to do so. However, just like arranging a project, it is not a requirement. If you do not arrange a team, the course coordinators will assign you to a team based on a short survey. Teams should consist of four students (no more, no less) and should be formed before the Assignment Round of Project Selection begins. When you form a team, have someone from your team email the course coordinators and cc your team members. Teams formed after the start of the Assignment Round and/or teams with fewer than four students will not be considered.

Developing a Team

If you would like to reach to others in the course to form a team, you are welcome to 1) look through the class enrollment on our Canvas page and reach out directly to students you know and who will welcome your email, or 2) post to our Google Group to connect with others who may have similar interests. To connect via our Google Group, visit the site linked below and respond to a conversation or start a new one. Give the conversation a concise, directed subject that allows others to recognize it easily, for example, “Searching for team members for TITLE OF PROJECT”.

ME 351 Google Group

Template Email

Dear {PARTNER},

This fall I will be starting my two-semester capstone design sequence at UW-Madison. In this course, I will be working on a student team to develop a solution to a client’s problem.

I’m reaching out because I’ve really enjoyed working at {COMPANY NAME} and was wondering if they might be interested in partnering with me on my project. It doesn’t take much to be a partner, typically just a good project idea, a willingness to engage with a design team as a client, and an agreement to fund prototyping efforts. For more details, and a list of FAQs, see the link below.

If you think this is a possibility, please let me know. The next steps would be to generate a few project ideas and have a short meeting with the program coordinator, Dr. Michael Cheadle.

I look forward to hearing from you,
{YOUR NAME}

UW Mechanical Engineering Senior Design
https://seniordesign.me.wisc.edu/partners/

Course Coordinators

Please direct questions to the course coordinators: