Sponsor a Senior Design Project

Each year, ISyE seniors apply everything they've learned in the Senior Design course. Students collaborate in small groups in an effort to tackle real-world problems in projects proposed by ISyE industry affiliates. Every team partners with a faculty advisor and industry mentor for 15 weeks to scope the project, perform analysis and discover insights, test and measure potential solutions, and deliver recommendations.

Schedule for 2021-22 Academic Year

Project proposals, selection, and team formation take place in the Fall term.  Project execution takes place during the Spring term.

Fall 2021:
 Key Dates  Milestone
 10/15/21 Priority deadline to submit project proposals
 Ongoing Refine scope, in collaboration with ISyE faculty 
 11/6/21 Project sponsors notified about project acceptance
12/2/21 Senior Design Proposal Fair. Sponsors of selected projects are invited to campus to pitch your project—and your company—to ISyE Seniors. This is your opportunity to get students excited about working on your project!
 12/18/21  Project sponsors notified of their Senior Design team members
 
Spring 2022:
  • Project work will take place between January 18 - May 2, 2022

What Makes a Successful Project?

  • Large scope and challenge commensurate with student time requirement
  • Significant value to sponsor
  • Use Industrial and Systems Engineering knowledge and methodologies
  • Scope includes opportunity for students to recommend a design or modification of a system or process

How Much Does It Cost?

  • The financial commitment for this course from corporate sponsors is $5,000 per project to support department and student initiatives.
  • Fee waivers will be considered for non-profit organizations sponsoring projects.
  • Any costs incurred for the project, such as supplies, travel, or equipment, are also the responsibility of the corporate sponsor.

Benefits to Project Industry Partners

  • At least 150 hours of work from each student team member
  • Fresh perspective, proposals, and solutions to your important business problems
  • Project Statement of Work, two Project Updates, a final Project Report and Presentation to keep students and sponsors on the same page and maximum project value
  • Relationships with highly qualified Industrial Engineering students, which may lead to recruitment opportunities
  • Access to ISyE faculty knowledge and resources

Expectations of Project Industry Partners

  • Commitment of Industry Mentor to team
    • Degree in Engineering or related field
    • Reasonable responsiveness to student contacts
    • Responsible for client-side organization (meetings, site visits, data, etc.), answering student questions
  • Commitment to providing access to data and site
  • True interest in project
    • Students are highly motivated to provide real value to sponsors!

Examples of Past Projects

ISyE Seniors at the University of Minnesota pharmacy

In 2021, a group worked with the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) to help transition its pharmacy on the East Bank campus from a manual inventory management system to an automated carousel system. Simulations suggested the switch lowered UMMC’s on-hand inventory by at least 10 percent, as well as saved the hospital system at least $195,000 each year.

Read the story
ISyE Undergrads Boston Scientific

In 2020, a group was tasked with developing a new inventory management system for Boston Scientific Corporation. Using real-time usage data, the team of seniors found Boston Scientific could drastically improve its demand forecasting processes and inventory management, while potentially saving millions of dollars annually and eliminating waste from products with high inventory and little demand.

Read the story

Quotes from Past Sponsors

Ready to propose a project?

Proposals received by October 15, 2021 will receive full consideration for Spring 2022.

Online Proposal Form
Printable Proposal Form


Questions?

For more information, please contact Professor Lisa Miller at lisamill@umn.edu or (612) 625-7397.