Engineering Intramurals

Three students work on an engineering intramural project.

An engineering intramural is a problem-based engineering activity that provides a real-world learning experience for students. We invite industry partners and community organizations to submit problems for consideration.

The problems can represent broad domains and result in outcomes like requirements specification and competitive benchmarking, brainstorming and conceptual models, proposal of design concepts and supporting analysis, and/or design-and-build of a prototype.

Potential benefits to companies include:

  • Ownership of any IP generated during the project.
  • Advancement of engineering projects or related product development research.
  • Interaction with student talent that could fill intern or entry-level engineering roles; intramurals represent an alternative to recruitment fairs and standard job posting.

Project Model

Students will be recruited and assigned to project teams early in the Fall semester (Sept). Students will spend several weeks elaborating on the problem proposed in the project. They will spend this time developing a plan, building skills and knowledge related to the problem, identifying resources and experts to consult, etc. Over the winter break, the students will participate in a project management workshop and establish some target deliverable deadlines. In the Spring Semester (Feb), the students will focus on completing the project outcomes, developing prototypes, running tests, etc. Final presentations occur in May and are a great summary of the progress made in the project, and sharing their results out. See an example final presentation here.

Submitted project proposals will be reviewed on a continual basis but plan to submit proposals by August 15 for the upcoming academic year for launch.

Project Requirements

Since intramurals are voluntary extracurricular opportunities for students, the following requirements and constraints should be observed:

  • Scope should be such that a team of three students spends no more than 5 hours each per week. There are 12 active weeks in the Fall, 1 over Winter Break, and 13 weeks in the Spring, or 130 hours.
  • When appropriate, multiple student teams may be assigned to work on the same problem in order to explore alternative solutions.
  • Interaction with industry can be minimal but it is expected that industry partners be available for a kick-off meeting, a mid-project update, and a final presentation. We recommend connecting with your team every-other week to provide ongoing feedback and direction.
  • In cases where a prototype is to be developed, the necessary raw materials should be provided by the sponsor.

Example Intramural Projects

Moving Away from Fossil Fuels (National Grid)
Explore the impact of transitioning systems to non-fossil fuel sources, and consider the unique challenges that legislative action has on this transition.

Predictive Analytics (LenderLogix)
Determine the likelihood of a client seeking a mortgage after pre-approval, and timelines for those decisions.

Designing Sustainable Latrines for Raranya Tanzania (Partnership with ELN & Friendly Water for the World)
Propose a toiling system while working with available resources and challenges present in the area.

UI/UX for Additional Sport Support Module (Time to Score, Inc)
Redesign current sports statistics module to broaden its use with another sport.

Powerboat Transom Design (Morph Marine, LLC)
Research and design a boat hull that maximizes efficiency on a variety of measures.

Design a Hydraulic Structure - Water Resource Engineering (US Army Corp of Engineers)
Design a hydraulic structure that prevents the upstream migration of the Sea Lamprey using velocities that exceed their swim performance capacity, for all flow conditions.

Mentoring a Project

Engineering Intramurals are a great way to connect with a team of students eager to apply their talent to your engineering challenges. These extra-curricular projects are structured to take an academic year and can be worked on by an interdisciplinary team of 3-5 undergraduate engineering students.

Companies benefit from students putting hours into examining your presented challenge and producing deliverables that help to move the project forward. Getting to know students is helpful for the company’s recruitment efforts and establishing a pipeline of talent towards opportunities that may arise. The mentorship throughout the project also keeps

Interested in submitting a project? Fill out the form here.

Get Started

Submit your intramural project ideas for review, or contact Melinda Somerville, Experiential Learning Business Development Assistant, to discuss further. 

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