Newly introduced capstone design course for mechanical engineering technology: Lessons learned from two cohorts and two types of projects

This paper demonstrates the experience of teaching newly introduced capstone design course for two consecutive Mechanical Engineering Technology graduating cohorts at the authors' School of Engineering and Technology. The newly introduced capstone design course was taught for the first cohort utilizing one internally sponsored project assignment for the entire cohort, while the second cohort experienced five different project assignments three of which were industry supported, and the remaining two projects were internally supported. The paper highlights the methodology of delivering the capstone design course during both years and compares and contrasts design experiences between internally and externally sponsored capstone design projects. It will be shown quantitatively, in this study, that industry sponsored projects provided better opportunities for students to receive real-life project experience while introducing a different level of challenges for faculty and school. Classes were divided into teams and the team-based assessment used is also captured in this work. Assessment instruments embedded into the capstone design course are also discussed and level of success is demonstrated in view of ABET a-k outcomes emphasized throughout the course. The paper concludes with recommendations to continuously improve industry-sponsored capstone design projects with an emphasis on Mechanical Engineering Technology cohorts.