The University of Wisconsin-Platteville prides itself on providing students with hands-on, practical experiences to prepare them for the workforce. Industry partners in the tri state area and beyond play a crucial role in accomplishing this. These opportunities come in the form of co-ops, internships, community engagement projects, and course projects including Senior Design.
Projects completed in a Senior Design course pair a group of students with an industry partner to solve real problems or create new products. The projects are supervised by an industry advisor and UW-Platteville faculty. The students explore all aspects of the project including creativity,
analysis, synthesis, project management, scheduling, time management, engineering ethics, communication, product safety and liability, copyrights and patents, economics, robust engineering, and more. Typical projects last one semester—15 weeks—although other options are available. This collaboration between the university and industry benefits all—giving students relevant, professional experience and industry partners the opportunity to help shape the skills of the next generation workforce.
BENEFITS
Collaboration on projects
- Afresh perspective from students; the typical group size is three-five and students participate in initial discussion and reviews
- Opportunity for lower-priority projects to be reviewed and developed
- Low-risk option to develop projects
- Potential to minimize the time commitment to oversee the project while retaining the ability to have input and approval
University collaboration
- Increased exposure and brand awareness for your company
- Opportunities to draw from the multidisciplinary knowledge base of UW-Platteville professors
Recruiting for co-ops and new hires
- Develop professional relationships with the project group members who could have potential to continue work as employees
- Give students exposure to company methods, standards, and products
- Partnerships can lead to publicity throughout campus, potentially generating more applicants across all majors.
PROJECT SPONSORS
- Presto
- Plexus
- Sub-Zero Wolf
- MSA
- BW Papersystems
- Danfoss
- Vortex
- John Deere
- BAPI
- Startups
- Entrepreneurs
- Communities
DISCIPLINES
- Mechanical engineering
- Civil and environmental engineering Industrial engineering
- Computer science and software engineering Engineering physics
- Sustainability and renewable energy systems Interdisciplinary Design
- Sophomore Design
- Electrical Engineering
- Business
- Supply Chain
PROJECT TYPES
- Concept development
- Continuous improvement
- Material flow and site layout
- Infrastructure and municipality
- Planning Automation
- Research and development
FUNDING
Industry sponsors are requested to provide financial support for the projects through a donation. Donations are used to support academic programs. Examples include student travel, prototyping equipment and supplies, and other university resources. When available, university facilities and equipment will be used. Commitments from the university and industrial partner will be agreed upon prior to the start of the project.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The best projects have an engaged mentor who will benefit from the work being performed. The scope of the project is important to establish such that the project can be completed within a semester. Projects must have a significant design component and require analysis of the problem. Ideally, students will be able to engage in hands-on tests, experiments, or prototyping. The project team will deliver its final presentation to a diverse audience of stakeholders at the end of the semester.
CONTACT John Fick | Corporate Relations | Office: 608.342.7528 | Mobile: 608.620.3425 fickj@uwplatt.edu
