Capstone Design

CU Denver engineering students in all five engineering departments (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Bio Engineering and Computer Science) take a Capstone Design course during their senior year.  In this course, student teams design, build and test a new product, process or service.  The teams consist of between 3-6 students (often interdisciplinary), and a faculty mentor. Teams implement a state-of-the-art Design Innovation (DI) process using an “Agile - Sprint” cadence. Projects have extensive engineering analysis and/or simulation and include prototypes to demonstrate feasibility.

Sponsors determine the focus for the design project and provide project funding. The CU Denver design team provides approximately a person-years’ worth of engineering design work. Sponsors retain the intellectual property. 

 
The sponsor chooses the project’s focus or design goal.  The design team works with stakeholders to clarify and refine the focus.
Teams of 3-6 senior engineering students from a variety of engineering disciplines work with a faculty mentor and the sponsor on the project.
The IP belongs to the sponsor.  Students and faculty can also sign NDAs to protect the sponsor. 
End-of-project deliverables include extensive stakeholder analysis, multiple innovative solutions, engineering analysis/simulation to show feasibility and a “trade show ready” prototype along with high-quality documentation.