ENGGEN 784A/B : Capstone Project

Engineering

2024 Semester Two (1245) / 2025 Semester One (1253) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

An extensive team-based project within a virtual or real-world organisation, where students will apply highly specialised theories, frameworks, and tools to analyse complex problems and develop practical solutions to industry standards. Students will formulate plans, reports, and deliver presentations that convey their findings and facilitate critical reflective analysis of their learning experiences throughout the project.

Course Overview

In this course, you will work with a client’s real-world and real-time problems. As part of a project team, you will choose, integrate, and apply theories, frameworks and tools to understand the problem and subsequently generate and iterate possible solutions. Plans, reports and presentations will be produced and communicated to inform and influence clients and affected stakeholders.

This course will suit those students who like working with others and who like working on real problems. To succeed, you will need to collaborate with a team of students and with the client organisation. It's designed to replicate working on a real-world project for a customer and so will put you in a great position to talk about your year of project experience as well as your academic record when talking to employers.

In addition, students are required to complete a learning journal every two weeks and to also feedback on their colleagues' journals.  These journals relate to your experiences and learning points from the course.  This is designed to build familiarity with feedback-rich environments and a high-performance culture.  Failure to complete these regular entries will result in penalties to the project journal report which is a significant proportion of the overall course mark.

There are several milestones and deliverables over the project duration, some of which are your assignments for this course. Your project will run over two semesters, as ENGGEN 784A and ENGGEN 784B.

Course Requirements

To complete this course students must enrol in ENGGEN 784 A and B, or ENGGEN 784

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Evaluate, integrate, and apply relevant theories, frameworks, and models to critically analyse complex engineering management and project management challenges. (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 4.2)
  2. Analyse and interpret engineering or project management problems presented by clients, enabling them to develop and effectively present comprehensive solution plans in response. (Capability 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
  3. Communicate and influence clients and stakeholders by preparing and delivering final reports that address engineering or project management challenges in a sustainable and ethically responsible manner. (Capability 6.1 and 7.1)
  4. Continuously challenge assumptions and enhance their understanding through reflexive responses to stakeholder feedback in a learning journal, fostering ongoing professional development. (Capability 3.2, 4.2, 5.1 and 6.1)
  5. Analyse problems by working independently utilising research and problem-solving skills, and interdependently with others in a collaborative team to achieve successful project outcomes. (Capability 3.2, 4.2, 5.1 and 7.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Project demonstrations and documentation 30% Group Coursework
Project evaluation report 20% Individual Coursework
Project Journal Report 50% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Project demonstrations and documentation
Project evaluation report
Project Journal Report

It's critical that all tasks and assignments are completed promptly. This is particularly true for those tasks that directly affect the ability of the team to complete its project. We cannot emphasise the importance of you taking responsibility for, and being accountable for, all the work the project team needs to complete.

Note that the group assessments are moderated before marks are awarded to individual team members. If a team member does not contribute to the group's work and their teammates give them a low peer review, then the overall mark awarded to them will be lower than that awarded to their teammates, individual marks being re-allocated to the other students.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 30-point course, and students are expected to spend 300 hours in total (~approx. 12.5 hours per week) over two semesters (part A & part B). Note that there are no exams, so the workload will be spread over the two semesters.

Your work will be split between tasks related to your project - client meetings/presentations, working with your team (the by-product of which work will be completing your team assignments) and working on tasks for your assignments. There will be tutorials/office hours set up on a weekly/fortnightly basis. There are no lectures on the course.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience or Online

This course is offered in two delivery modes:

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities, including tutorials to complete components of the course.
There are no lectures on the course. Other learning activities, including seminars/tutorials, will be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events, including client meetings/team meetings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Online

Attendance is expected at scheduled online activities, including tutorials to complete components of the course.
The course will include live online events, including client meetings/team meetings, and these will be recorded.

There is no test/exam on the course. 

Where possible, study material will be available at course commencement throughout the course.

This course runs to the University semester timetable and all the associated completion dates and deadlines will apply.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Health & Safety

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Postgraduate policies and guidelines.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student feedback collected on the course will be used to improve the learning experience.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 23/01/2024 03:17 p.m.