Senior Design Program | College of Engineering

Information for Sponsorship

Husky-made Warning Light System Makes Great Lakes Beaches Safer

Here's how Huskies turn their ideas into their careers. Michigan Tech grad Jake Soter started working on a project to help beachgoers decide whether it’s safe to go in the water when he was doing his senior design project up here on Lake Superior with his professor, Andrew Barnard. Long hours and many iterations later, they created SwimSmart Warning Systems.

"It's not their last class—it's their first job"

"Students working on projects of this scale no longer feel like students. They feel like engineers. They take ownership of the project and that's the magic. Now they own their education, and that's the first step towards being a professional."Carl Anderson, Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Industry

We connect students and industry

At Michigan Tech, our mission is to graduate innovative, world-class engineers. But we cannot do it without you. Industry partners are critical to our success. Our Senior Design program connects students and industry through open-ended, industrial projects. Students gain the skills and experience that can launch them into successful careers, while industry partners gain access to tomorrow's engineers today.

Program Highlights

Students..our bright, energetic, and objective engineers will make your project their top priority throughout their senior year.
Teamwork...we aim for teams of five students and encourage multidisciplinary projects.
Communication...teams get many opportunities to hone important communications skills through interaction with industry clients, team members, vendors, and Michigan Tech faculty and staff
Mentorship...a faculty advisor for each team provides the right balance of instruction and coaching, enabling students to learn by doing.
Resources...students have access to state-of-the-art design and collaboration tools, dedicated fabrication facilities, labs, and design studios.
Timing...projects begin in both the fall and spring terms. Teams devote two full semesters approximately one thousand student hours or more to their project

Facilities

Developing and implementing solutions to industry challenges on campus requires access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources. This is where Michigan Tech Senior Design teams have a clear advantage. Our teams have what they need to take an idea from concept to customer presentation.

Highlighted here are some of our current facilities and design tools—many of which are dedicated, all of which are accessible to Senior Design. This list represents a multi-million dollar investment made possible and sustainable through generous support from Michigan Tech alumni, friends, and you: our industry sponsors.

Find out more about facilities available

Sponsor Benefits

Fresh perspectives on industry challenges
Access to an excellent pool of project resources and potential employees
Tools, techniques, and theory from one of the nation’s premier engineering schools
An active role in shaping engineering education and tomorrow’s workforce
Visibility of your organization on campus
A gateway for a broader relationship with Michigan Tech

Results

Sponsor Invitation

Need a new or improved product, process, material, or system—or a fresh set of eyes on existing challenges?

We invite you to experience first-hand the many benefits of participation in our Senior Design program. Getting started is as easy as sharing a potential project idea with us. We can also schedule a visit to your facility to present the program and engage directly in the brainstorming process. At Michigan Tech, we are passionate about engineering, problem solving, and the design process.

Your sponsorship represents an important investment in engineering education at Michigan Tech, and together, we can continue to develop the skills that prepare our students for a successful transition into the work place.

Getting Started

Below are some initial considerations for becoming a project sponsor:

Identify one or more project ideas-ideal projects are technical problems or opportunities involving open-ended design solutions, are appropriate for entry-level engineers in your organization, are not on your company's 'critical path', and can be completed on-campus during the academic year.
Consider the engineering disciplines which are most appropriate for the project-our program can accommodate multi-disciplinary project teams in addition to focused projects in a core discipline.
Identify a project champion or company liaison who will commit time for regular interaction with the student team-this is critical to the overall experience.
Anticipate the resources that will be required for successful completion of the project-our extensive facilities allow for a broad range of engineering projects to be completed. Specialized materials, equipment, software, etc. that prove time or cost prohibitive to acquire on campus may need to be supplied or loaned to the team.
Commit funds to sponsor the program. The standard sponsorship fee is $15-17.5k per project, which supports our program infrastructure as well as the team's direct project budget.

Intellectual Property Considerations

Projects can be sponsored either in an unrestricted or restricted fashion, with processes in place to address the intellectual property (IP) considerations of the project sponsor, the University, and the students.

Contact us by phone or email to discuss your project ideas/interests. Our program staff will help to refine your ideas into suitable, meaningful projects for our student teams, serving as your point of contact to work through the sponsorship process.