Information for Prospective Clients
Overview
One key feature of the undergraduate ICT programs at Swinburne University is the requirement for all students to undertake a professionally-focussed major project in the final stages of their studies.
These final year project units utilise real-world, authentic activities and challenges in a supportive and collaborative environment. Projects may be externally-sourced industry and community projects, competitions, research-based projects or internally developed project briefs (including, in some cases, student-initiated projects). Each student is encouraged to identify their personal strengths, develop project management, team work and personal skills, and to apply their learning to real-world projects. These experiences enhance students' CVs, preparing them for successful employment on graduation and for their future careers.
In these project units students are expected to:
- Apply and/or synthesise a broad range of knowledge and skills that they have already learned.
- Acquire new knowledge and skills in order to complete the tasks.
- Develop the skills, behaviours and attitudes required of a professional in the workplace.
- Become self-directed learners, independently seeking resources, peer and professional assistance as needed.
In ICT, the projects generally involve the development of a software system however projects may also focus on one of a variety of analytical topics or problems in information systems. Students will work in teams of three to seven depending on the particular project unit and the project scope. Project teams will have an academic supervisor who will oversee the progress of the team but will generally not intervene in the day-to-day activities of the project. Project teams interview the client in order to gather and develop requirements. They undertake analysis, software development, database development, system modelling or what ever the project entails. The project team will meet with the client on a regular basis to report progress and to negotiate requirements and deliverables. At the end of the project the team will provide a formal presentation and demonstration of the project outcomes. Reports and other documentation will be delivered.
Technologies utilised in projects
- Java, C++, VB.NET, C#
- HTML, Javascript, ASP.NET, Perl, PHP
- TomCat, JBoss
- Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL server
- Open Source, Linux, Apache
- Cognos, Holocentric, SA
Intellectual Property and Guarantees
The purpose of the student project units is to provide a learning experience for students. There is no charge for the labour, as such there are no guarantees:
- Your project may not be chosen for a team of students. If it is not urgent, we'll offer it to the next cohort.
- The deliverable might not be finished.
- The deliverable might have bugs.
- The deliverable might not do exactly what you want it to.
- The deliverable might not work after you upgrade your operating system.
Swinburne's IP regulations stipulate that under normal circumstances, the IP associated with a project resides with the students who worked on it and not the University. Previous clients have recognised this and have used the project to explore concepts and new technologies from which requirements for future systems may be developed. Where IP issues are important for the client, IP can be negotiated to allow ownership by the industry client. A sample IP contract can be provided if requested. If the software requires the installation of some software you don't own (eg. Microsoft .NET, Adobe Acrobat), Swinburne cannot supply it for you. Swinburne will not maintain the software or fix it if it breaks down. If the software uses an internet host (web server), you must supply the web server account. Swinburne cannot host your web page for you. If the software uses a database server, you must supply the database server account. Swinburne can not host your database for you.
How to become a Project Client
Prepare a 1/2 page summary of what you want the project team to do. This may include a brief description of any software to be developed. Include any details about technologies you already have or plan to get. This summary will be read by the students and will help them make an informed decision about which project to take on.
|
