Capstone (senior design)

College of Engineering

Capstone Project Partners

Overview

Are you looking for a way to evaluate and attract new talent while supporting innovative solutions to real-world problems? Consider becoming a Project Partner for the VCU Engineering Capstone Design program. All undergraduate students from across the VCU College of Engineering work in teams over the fall and spring semesters of their senior year to design, build, and test prototypes.

This experience is strengthened by the students' exposure to topics related to:  theoretical background, design and development, regulatory, manufacturing, finance, product development, and marketing presented by experts from industry and academia.

Benefits of Capstone Program Partnership

  • Interact directly with the new generation of graduating engineers
  • Evaluate and attract new talent with minimal risk
  • Access fresh, creative perspectives to engineering opportunities or problems.
  • A cost-effective approach for “backburner” projects.
  • Strengthen relationships with university faculty and expertise.
  • Offer leadership opportunities for employees to serve as project mentors.
  • Expand brand recognition for your organization with prominent logo displays at the Senior Capstone Expo and special recognition at the VCU Engineering Career Fairs

The process

1.  Submit ideas for projects

Projects may be submitted using the Capstone Project Partner Interest form. The proposal includes a high-level project summary, lists resources needed, and team member skills required. Students address capstone projects in the Senior Capstone Design Seminar, which is a required academic course led by VCU Engineering faculty members. 

2.  Meet with a Capstone Steering Committee member

A faculty member from the Capstone Steering Committee will meet with you to refine the scope and objectives for your project. If your project meets the criteria, you’ll be assigned a team of undergraduate students (typically 4 students per team) and partnered with a faculty advisor to assist the students throughout the project cycle during the academic year. 

3.  Project support and additional considerations

  • A donation of $7,000 per accepted industry project is requested. A donation of $1,000 is suggested from non-profit organizations. A gift agreement will be sent upon request.  
  • Each capstone project team receives seed funding from the university. Any additional project-specific costs (such as specialized equipment, analytical costs, software, and other hardware not available in the College) must be purchased and/or supplied by the project partner promptly. Project partners retain ownership of all materials purchased for the project, which preferably should be acquired by the partner, not the university.
  • Expenses for the university, VCU Health, and non-profit partners come from seed funds and endowments, such as Sternheimer awards.
  • If necessary, students can complete the non-disclosure agreement or intellectual property agreement.

This Capstone Design Program culminates in the Capstone Design Expo, open to faculty, students, and friends of the College of Engineering and the general public. All capstone projects are displayed, with awards for worthy projects.

Expectations

  • Each industry or non-profit project is led by a VCU faculty with an industry partner mentor; the key corporate contact facilitating the project. Mentors participate in check-in meetings as needed to provide guidance and feedback to their student team(s).
  • Partner mentors provide feedback to the faculty adviser on individual and team performance.
  • Mentors ensure that student teams have all required materials promptly, within one week of request. This includes all background documents, drawings, schematics, potential software access, etc.
  • The faculty project adviser is responsible for managing all student tasks and assignments.
  • Project partners and their invitees are invited to attend the VCU Engineering Senior Capstone Expo at the VCU Siegel Center in late April. Approximately 100 projects and teams will be on display.