Capstone Projects

All MSE students conclude their degree with a team-based Capstone Project that brings together all the technical skills and hands-on experience they have acquired during their program. This practical and innovative project is a highlight for many students, providing them with a forum to tackle an open-ended engineering problem of their choosing.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

During the course of two fourth-year classes (MSE 410 and MSE 411), small groups of students address a design problem based on the requirements of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). Spring term’s MSE 410 is your initial Capstone Design project class while MSE 411 – offered in the summer term – is its continuation.

Together these courses provide groups of four-to-five with an opportunity to integrate and practicalize the technical skills they have learned on a pioneering eight-month design project.

Your team will be responsible for proposing, conceptualizing, designing, building and demonstrating a significant engineering project. Skills deployed during this project include: creative thinking, collaborative writing, group oral presentations, project documentation, engineering design processes, engineering standards and entrepreneurship.

By the end of these two courses, you will have mastered the design process as well as the documentation, communication and teamwork that enables the creation of successful engineering solutions.

If for any reason, a student did not successfully complete MSE 411, he/she will repeat MSE 411 in the next offering of the course. In such an instance, the student inevitably has to join another group and another project.

Important Dates

MSE 410 - 411 IMPORTANT DATES PRIOR TO PROJECT START

Note: If you are on co-op then you cannot take any capstone courses.

Tasks	Date
Project topics to be sent to the Instructor for approval*. Email a one page proposal with a clear eight month timeline and defined tasks and objectives to:mseupa@sfu.ca Eligible Projects Topics can be proposed by: MSE Faculty members – to submit a one page proposal with a clear 8 month required Deliverables Industry – e.g. extension of a co-op – Co-op Employer or Company to submit a one page proposal with a clear 8 month required Deliverables. In certain co-op related projects, smaller group sizes may be entertained provided that your employer confirms the project is a team effort within the company. The company and its university liaison must be approved by the instructor. Students Competition projects – e.g. Formula SAE, Faculty Advisor will provide project details	November 17
A list of the 4th year Capstone Projects for MSE 410 & 411 will be listed on MSE website. The project topic list may be updated up and until July 20th (for Fall term) or November 30th (for Spring term). The topic must be unique to an approved project team.	November 24
Students to form groups of four and select a topic. (In exceptional cases groups of 3 or 5 may be accepted.) In case you do not have a team and do not have your classmates’ contact information, either, register for a project and team members will be assigned to you (Talk to the project sponsor) or, contact mseupa@sfu.ca to receive anyone of your classmate's emails to discuss formation of a team. Team Approval policy: It is the role of the project SPONSOR to notify the Instructor. Topics issued by Faculty – faculty member to confirm designated team to: mseupa@sfu.ca Topics issued by Industry – Industry to confirm to: mseupa@sfu.ca Topics issued by Students – Find a Faculty Supervisor, and confirm to: mseupa@sfu.ca Faculty research areas The SPONSOR MUST Email “SELECTED” team and project topic to mseupa@sfu.ca Please note: No one without a project will be allowed to register for the course.	December 15

Available Projects

View some of our past Capstone Projects here:

Past Projects

Support to Capstone Teams

POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Prior to making any project-related purchases, make ensure you have an agreement in place with your supervisor and understand the reimbursement rules.
Each team shall receive up to a maximum of $50 for poster printing costs by way of reimbursement.
For self-funded teams, the School will grant up to $500 by way of reimbursement (the amount may vary depending on the funding allocation and on the number of claims).
Self-funded teams register using the Registration Form: Self-funded Capstone Team form on or before January 31st (Spring term) in order to be counted (no exception).

Claim process for self-funded teams:

Submit one claim only per team (as much as possible).
Complete the SFU Travel and Business Expense claim form (signed by the claimant and by the project supervisor) and gather all supporting documents (receipts or e-receipts with proof of payment).
Using Coursys submission portal, submit your claim (claim form + supporting documents) between August 1 and August 15 (Spring-Summer capstone). Late submissions will be returned.

Claim process for faculty-sponsored projects:

Complete the SFU Travel and Business Expense claim form (signed by the claimant and by the project supervisor) and gather all supporting documents (receipts or e-receipts with proof of payment).
Using Coursys submission portal, submit your claim (claim form + supporting documents) no later than August 15. Late submissions will be returned.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Groups participating in the entrepreneurship program may be eligible for additional funding through the entrepreneurship@sfu program (Contact Dr. Ramtin Rakhsha).

Sample Project & Success Stories

Project 2021: Green Waterways Ltd. – All Electric Sailboat

Team 1: Shri Sai Teja Duddella, Armaan Lageri, Mohammed Arif, Cao Tan, Selikem Kwadzovia, Seyed Sepehr Rezvanifard
Team 2: Syed Salman Haider Abdi, Duncan Wangombe Gichuru, Junayed A Nowshad, Chad Graham, Michael Doull
Sponsor(s): Green Waterways Ltd. and Dr. Patrick Palmer, Professor, School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering
Supervisor(s): Patrick Palmer, PhD, P.Eng, Professor, Mechatronic Systems Engineering Gheorghe Coman, Green Waterways Ltd.

Project 2021: Building an Autonomous Vehicle Using Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision

Team 1: Alzaib Karovalia, Syed imad azeem Rizvi, Uzair Bawany, Abdullah Tariq, Afnan Hassan
Supervisor(s): Ahmad Rad, PhD, PEng, Professor, Mechatronic Systems Engineering

Project 2021: 6-axis Robot 3D-printing Control

Team: Shawn Liu, Joshua Fritsch, Ahmed Maqsood, Tomas Bourassa, Ron Calara
Supervisor(s): Dr. Woo Soo Kim, PhD, P.Eng. Associate Professor, Mechatronic Systems Engineering

Success Story: Moment Energy - Forbes list of 30 under 30 North America

"Moment Energy, cofounded in 2020 by Edward Chiang, Gabriel Soares, Sumreen Rattan and Gurmesh Sidhu (2019 MSE capstone students), recycles electric vehicle batteries when the cars stop being used and repurposes them for off-grid energy generation projects. Used battery packs are significantly cheaper, and with 80% of their capacity remaining are sufficient for stationary load management systems. The company has raised $9.2 million in funding." - Forbes.com

Industry-Sponsored Capstones

Submit a one-page proposal with clear eight-month deliverables. Once accepted, the company and its university liaison will be approved by the instructor. The student-led teams will then select from the projects available. Once a formal agreement is established, the company representative works collaboratively with the group through regular communications and project progress meetings.

Email your one-page proposal, indicating a clear eight-month timeline plus defined tasks and objectives to: mseupa@sfu.ca.

Faculty of Applied Sciences

Mechatronic Systems Engineering Undergraduates