Industry-sponsored Student Design Projects

Twice a year at the U-M College of Engineering's Design Expo, enterprising students showcase a broad array of design projects running the gamut from automotive components to biomedical research discoveries. Many of these projects emanate from the Multidisciplinary Design Program, which engages talented student-led teams with leading corporations and government agencies. See the video below to find out more about the Design Expo. Recent business partners have included: Eaton Corporation, Segway LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation and Michigan Aerospace Corporation. Students also have collaborated with scientists from NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratories.

By working with design teams, companies get good productive solutions to their problems as well as opportunities for intensive interviews with students, explains projects coordinator Jessica Boria Brakora. Students also can leverage U-M facilities, faculty and other resources and bring these to bear on the project. Each design team functions as a mini-consulting firm that delivers manufacturing plans, simulations or working prototypes to their client at the end of the project.

Earlier this year, the Harris Corporation tasked students with designing an intruder-detection device for military and civilian applications. Michael Sternowski, a mechanical engineer in the RF Communications Division, says Harris chose to work with College of Engineering students on the design project for several reasons.

Michigan Engineering is recognized for having a world-class program that produces high-potential engineers, he explains. The graduates' abilities are partly derived from working on multidisciplinary projects, such as the intruder-detection device. Sponsoring U-M design projects helps students develop valuable interpersonal skills and technical experience that are required for them to be effective contributors at Harris RF or elsewhere, he observes. At the same time, Harris has an opportunity to learn about the academic skills and knowledge imparted to potential hires by the U-M curriculum.

Michigan engineering students do an outstanding job of developing concepts that Harris RF could one day productize, Sternowski says. The company would like to continue to invest in the success of the program and hire young engineers who can contribute to the growth and success of our business.

For more information on sponsoring student design projects, contact:
Jessica Brakora
Student Projects Coordinator
Lurie Engineering Center
1221 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI  48109-2092
(734) 763-7421
jboria@umich.edu