Final Year Capstone Project 2

Overview

This WIL spine unit forms the second half of a year long capstone sequence in which students plan, execute, and deliver a substantial engineering research or design project aligned with their major. Building on the foundational research and development completed in Final Year Capstone Project A or Engineering Technology Project A, this unit focuses on the design, implementation, and innovation stages of the project under the guidance of an academic supervisor.
To meet AQF Level 8 outcomes and the Swinburne Engineering Competencies, students must demonstrate advanced professional and technical capability through substantial research and/or design work. Projects may involve experimental investigation, design and construction, programming, software development, modelling and simulation, or literature based research.
Students work individually or in teams particularly for large, complex projects to deliver an engineering technology solution to an authentic industry challenge. Throughout the execution and delivery of the project, students apply advanced technical skills alongside project management and communication capabilities developed across their course.

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

1. Manage a research or complex design project effectively by applying project management processes, tools, and self management skills within technical, budgetary, risk, and time constraints (K1, K2, K3, K4, S1, S2, S3, S4, A2, A3, A4, A6).
2. Apply effective research methods, practices, principles and technological tools to implement a complex engineering project work; with data acquisition, data analysis, interpretation and synthesis (K3, K4, S1, S2, S3, A2, A3, A4).
3. Apply engineering problem solving methodologies to generate, evaluate, and justify innovative solutions (K1, K2, K3, K4, S1, S2, S3, A3).
4. Exhibit effective professional written and oral communication to a variety of audiences through proposals, reports, documentation and presentations (A2, A4).
5. Reflect on professional engineering practice and its impact on the project, including safety, ethical, legal, social, cultural and sustainability considerations, along with standards and codes of practice (K5, K6, S4, A1, A2, A4).
6. Manifest professionalism, integrity, ethical conduct and professional accountability in all aspects of project work, including teamwork, dealing with stakeholders and demonstrating a professional image (K5, K6, S4, A1, A2, A5, A6, A7).
7. Critically evaluate and independently acquire advanced knowledge and emerging technologies relevant to the research topic (S1,S2,S3,S4,A1,A2,A4,A5,A6,A7)

Teaching methods

Assessment

Content

Learning will take place primarily through self-guided learning tasks guided by the student’s supervisor(s) and pursue independently an individual design/research project that commenced in ENG40005. The two units together normally include a preparatory literature survey and developmental work such as design, analysis, simulation, experimental investigation, construction and programming. Learning will be enhanced by industry guest speakers’ seminars and class discussions and presentations. The seminars will focus on contemporary issues in the engineering profession.

One of the key objectives for this unit is to give students the experience of tackling a real problem, developing practical solutions and building self-reliance and planning capabilities in both individual and team-based environments.