Sponsor Role

To make this partnership successful for sponsors and students, we request the following from sponsors.

• A detailed description for a project that can be completed in an academic year.
• A $6000 fee that helps to covers direct project costs (limited to $2,000) and indirect costs needed to support the program such as administration costs, mentor expenses, project management software costs, and shop support costs.
• A technical mentor who can represent the company’s interests, meet regularly with students and support the team throughout the project. Sponsor mentor participation in weekly team meetings can take place by video conference, conference call, or in person depending upon the availability and location of the sponsor.
• Familiarization of students with special technology used in the company.
• Feedback and fostering of communication and professionalism.

College of Engineering Mentor Role

• Supervision of the student team throughout the academic year.
• Schedule weekly meetings with teams to monitor progress.
• Direction of students in understanding and executing the design process.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for academic topics, including the schedule, deliverables, and grading.
• Assurance that students fulfill academic requirements and the sponsor’s project goals.

Student Role

• Designate a team leader to be the point of contact.
• Hold the team accountable for its schedule.
• Make sure the team understands the objective.
• Commit a minimum of 6 hours per student per week to the project.
• Manage time and materials budgets.
• Submit conceptual design and preliminary design written reports and oral presentations for the project.
• Provide final presentation, report, and prototype to sponsor.