Overview
Engineering Design Project I initiates a substantial engineering design project through structured problem discovery, requirements development, concept generation, and preliminary design. Students work individually or in multidisciplinary teams to address an authentic client, industry, community, or research need.
The course develops professional practice in stakeholder analysis, background research, benchmarking, design specifications, sustainability, accessibility, safety, ethics, regulation, intellectual property, and project scope. Technical work includes functional decomposition, morphological charts, decision matrices, feasibility studies, preliminary calculations, modelling, simulation, component or materials selection, prototyping strategy, verification planning, and risk management.
Students also establish project plans incorporating work breakdown structures, schedules, budgets, resource allocation, team roles, meeting practices, version control, technical documentation, and communication with supervisors or clients. Expected outputs include a project proposal, requirements specification, literature or market review, risk register, preliminary drawings or models, project plan, and oral design review.
Learning Outcomes
- Frame an engineering problem by analysing stakeholder needs, context, constraints, risks, and opportunities.
- Formulate measurable design requirements and specifications that address performance, sustainability, accessibility, safety, ethical, regulatory, and intellectual property considerations.
- Synthesize research, benchmarking, and functional analysis to generate and document alternative engineering concepts.
- Evaluate design alternatives using feasibility studies, decision matrices, trade-off analysis, preliminary calculations, modelling, and simulation.
- Defend a justified preliminary design concept through technically rigorous written and oral communication.
- Develop a project plan incorporating scope, work breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, resources, team responsibilities, documentation, and version control.
- Plan verification, validation, prototyping, and risk-control activities appropriate to the selected design concept.
- Produce professional design documentation that demonstrates traceability from stakeholder needs and requirements to the preliminary design.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Studio | 3 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Seminar | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Project proposal and stakeholder analysis | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Requirements specification and design constraints | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Literature or market review and benchmarking report | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Risk register and project management plan | 10.00% |
| Deliverable | Preliminary design package, including drawings or models | 20.00% |
| Test | Individual technical design review | 10.00% |
| Exam | Final oral design review and portfolio submission | 15.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
