Capstone Sponsor Homepage
(Industry projects only; if you are interested in sponsoring a research project, click here instead)
Capstone Design Program
Dept. of Computer Science Engineering
Quick Index: Letter of Welcome        Steps to Sponsoring a Capstone Project

Welcome to the NAU Capstone Design Program!

 

Dear Potential Capstone Sponsor,

Thank you for your interest in sponsoring a project for the Senior Capstone Design Program at the College of Engineering and Technology. This program is the final stage in a unique, award-winning curriculum called the Design4Practice sequence, which was instituted at the college in 1994 in an effort to better address the needs of a rapidly-changing economic landscape in the high-technology sector. Specifically, the aim is to produce talented engineers who not only are skilled in traditional, discipline-specific concepts and techniques, but who are prepared to immediate take productive, leadership roles in the new economy. This means engineers who are able to identify problems, manage project teams, communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines, and develop efficient solutions within the stringent framework defined by the new market realities of the modern high-tech economy.

I am personally very committed to this program; it represents one of the primary reasons that I joined the faculty here in at NAU in 1999. As a project manager, I often experienced the frustration associated with hiring recent graduates: persons with good technical skills but no real idea of how to participate effectively in high-pressure, interdisciplinary corporate environments. I believe the Design4Practice program, and the Capstone project semester in particular, provides the best possible training to address this shortcoming.

On a practical level, there is one central reason that this unique program has been so successful: it consistently provides tangible benefits to all participants: students receive invaluable experience and insight into corporate dynamics; sponsors receive custom-built solutions to specific corporate needs at minimal cost. In addition, sponsors are able to become acquainted with talented seniors; it is not uncommon for sponsors to subsequently hire Capstone team members.

In sum, I am certain that you, as a sponsor, will find your participation in the Capstone Design Project to be a very rewarding experience, one that I hope you will be encouraged to repeat again and again over the years as we establish a solid and complimentary working relationship.

Best regards,

Dr. Eck Doerry, Asst. Professor
Dept. of Computer Science Engineering
Northern Arizona University.

How to sponsor a Capstone Design Project

Sponsoring a Capstone Design Project is relatively straighforward; the primary requirement for a successful outcome is a positive, supportive relationship between the sponsor and the student team. The following documents provide a structured introduction to the Capstone experience for sponsors, describing the Capstone program, addressing logistical and legal issues, and detailing the role of the sponsor in the process. They are best read in the order listed:

  1. Introduction to the Capstone Program. A description of the Capstone program, how it fits into the academic development of students, and the characteristics of students and projects. Read this document to understand who the students are and the nature of Capstone projects.
  2. Capstone Partnership Guidelines. By definition, Capstone projects involve the creation of novel software solutions through collaboration between the corporate sector (the sponsor) and academia (Northern Arizona University). This document outlines the legal foundations for this collaboration, establishing a framework for negotiating the inevitable intellectual property issues that arise in this collaboration. I emphasize that, filtering through the legalize in this document, the word negotiation is a key term; in general, we have been very successful in arriving at acceptable terms with our sponsors.
  3. Project Sponsor Guidelines. This document details the role of the sponsor in the Capstone process, outlining the responsibilities associated with being a successful sponsor and describing how to submit a project for consideration.
  4. Project Description Template and Samples. Please read the Project Sponsor Guidelines before jumping to these pages. I put these links here only for the convenience of experienced sponsors. In order to impose some structure and consistency on project descriptions, I have created this template and have begun archiving some "model" project descriptions from past and present sponsors as a reference.