Sponsoring a Senior Design Project
About Us
Welcome! We are glad that you are considering sponsoring a senior design project. We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about us.
The Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering is one of the top Industrial Engineering programs in the country. We are veterans in the field of IE celebrating over 75 years of excellence at NC State. Our faculty includes 23 distinguished faculty and many award winners. Our enrollment is nearly 400 strong with half of the student body being at the undergraduate level. We are actively engaged in research contracts and grants approaching $4 million annually. As part of our rigorous curriculum all ISE undergraduate students must complete a senior design project. We hope that you consider becoming an integral part of this legacy by helping to prepare students to be successful Industrial Engineers.
Why participate?
The sponsorship of a senior design project is rewarding for both the project sponsor and the student team. This is an opportunity to collaborate with student resources that can analyze your work proposal with new concepts and fresh ideas. Throughout the semester formal communication tools will be used such as presentations, reports, and emails or conference calls. Ultimately you will receive the final project report (including copies of any software files used or physical prototypes) and be a stakeholder who will have input in the student team's evaluation. Our process to submit your proposed projects is straightforward and simple. See our project submission form. We have also provided guidelines to help you understand what is expected from the student team. We look forward to working with you soon.
What should you expect from your student team?
Project results are highly dependent on the scope of the work but you should always expect best effort, good communications, and professionalism from your student team. The student team will be under the mentorship of a faculty member from the ISE department throughout the semester. The project will begin with the student team's project proposal and ends with a final report. Communication from the student to the sponsor contact will be done on a regular basis and interim reports/updates will be sent to the sponsor. The students will provide computer programs, data analysis, drawings, prototypes, etc… to the sponsor as part of their final report. A final presentation will also be given (in person if possible) to the sponsor.
What is expected of the sponsor?
The sponsor is requested to assign a point of contact for the student team. The contact(s) is expected to communicate (via email, phone, or skype) with the student team on average 1-2 hours a week. The sponsor is expected to facilitate questions, provide information and direction, and feedback on project tasks/outputs. Lastly, the sponsor must evaluate the student team's performance. A grade sheet will be provided to the sponsor.
Sponsors should start early to define the project scope, desired outcomes, and commence the engagement with the ISE department. We recommend submitting projects 60-90 days in advance of the semester. This will ensure that a team can be committed to the project and that ample time is allowed to develop the project description. You will be contacted by the senior design project faculty lead after submission. A commitment fee is requested in order to facilitate the project costs.
What types of projects have been done in the past?
There have been a plethora of projects that have been completed by our student teams with positive and valuable outcomes. As you will find, ISE senior design projects range from healthcare delivery simulations to process reengineering and analysis.
For more information please contact Dr. Anita Vila-Parrish at arvila@ncsu.edu for more details.
