91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Organizations are welcome to reach out to the program at any time to indicate interest in participation. After the first of the year, members of the Capstone Committee begin to reach out to many returning and new organizations to determine interest in participation for the following fall semester.

The committee may work with proposing sponsors to provide guidance, revise proposals, and adjust elements of projects to better match the programs needs and capabilities.

Proposals are matched with the needs of the program for the upcoming year based on information from students, faculty advisors, staff, and Design Advisory Board members about their experience, interests, and specializations. Sponsors will be notified of acceptance during the summer.

Common reasons projects are not-selected:

• Multiple proposals are too similar.
• The scope of the project is too large or too small.
• The project content does not match the interests of the students.
• The sponsor does not have the flexibility or infrastructure needed for the program.
• The program does not have faculty/staff/facilities to support the project.
• The sponsor is too restrictive with respect to intellectual property or disclosure rights of the participants.

A project agreement between 91³Ô¹ÏÍø's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the sponsoring organization will establish the terms and responsibilities of the project for both parties. SEAS can work with a sponsor to modify the boilerplate contract provided by the university’s general counsel or sponsors may provide their own contract under certain circumstances, but such action may be considered in evaluating and accepting a project.

While SEAS does have the ability to coordinate non-disclosure agreements and intellectual property agreements between sponsors and project participants, the program cannot require any student to engage in one of these agreements. The selection process may give preference to projects which do not require such agreements to ensure the program contains enough projects for all students who do not wish to sign away such rights. While some parts of the project may be protected, a project which has excessive restrictions is unlikely to be feasible, since students must have the ability to publicly present progress on their project throughout the program.

Descriptions of each project are published 1–2 weeks prior to the start of the fall semester so the incoming senior class can review and vote for the projects they would like to work on. Due to the public nature of these descriptions, sponsors should clearly express any aspects of the project they do not want included in the description. Members of the Capstone Committee may reach out to the sponsor to review the details of these descriptions for accuracy and content prior to posting.

Your dedicated liaison maintains regular interaction with the students, offering constructive feedback, valuable guidance, and unwavering support throughout the entire project. It's a collaborative journey where your input shapes the future of the project.