Partnering with Industry for a Computer Science and Engineering Capstone Senior Design Course

A capstone design course is an important component of the senior year curriculum for engineering students and plays a key role in achieving departmental ABET EC 2000 outcomes. In the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida, we have partnered with industry to have students work in teams on industry-contributed “real world” projects. Industry partners contribute projects, mentor students, give a guest lecture, and provide the opportunity for students to present their project at the industry site. Students work on projects in teams and are given milestones and schedules to follow. The milestones include formal requirements, specifications and design, prototype demonstration, test plan, and final project delivery and presentation. The final presentation includes a project demonstration, user documentation, press release, and a poster that is permanently displayed in the department seminar room. The course includes formal lecture and reading assignments on the development process. A midterm exam covers these topics. Soft topics include discussions on working in teams. Our industry partners stress the importance of students being able to work well in teams. We hope that our experience can serve as a guide for other engineering departments considering industry partnering for their capstone design courses.