Table of contents
1 What is Capstone Project all About?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.1 Capstone Project Subject Numbers………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
1.1.1 Capstone Subject Numbers…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
1.1.2 Individual Capstone Project Number ………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
1.2 Documentation Control ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
1.3 Capstone Project Awards ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
1.3.1 Dean’s Prize…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
1.3.2 IAN Prize for Engineering Innovation …………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
1.3.3 Capstone Project Poster Prize ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
2 The Phases of Capstone Project ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
2.1 The Exploration Phase (in the 12 months leading up to commencing your project) ………………………………. 7
2.2 Preparation Phase ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
2.3 Capstone Project Registration Form (‘white form’) …………………………………………………………………………. 8
2.4 Proposal Preparation (in the weeks leading up to the start of semester)……………………………………………….. 9
2.5 Proposal Acceptance (due during the first 4 weeks of semester, or earlier!)………………………………………. 10
2.6 Working on the Project ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
2.7 Readiness Assessment (during the last 3 weeks of semester)……………………………………………………………. 10
2.7.1 48016 Capstone A………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
2.7.2 Other Capstones Distinction or High Distinction Nomination …………………………………………………… 11
2.8 Final Report Submission …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
2.9 Capstone Presentation Day………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
2.10 Final Report Assessment …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
3 When Things go Wrong …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
3.1 Renegotiation of intended outcomes …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.2 Extension of time……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
3.3 Late Withdrawal………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
3.4 Special Consideration…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
4 Related Matters………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
4.1 Your Supervisor ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
4.2 The Timeline …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
4.3 Intellectual Property and Confidentiality……………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
4.4 Academic Misconduct………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18
4.5 Human Research Ethic Committee (HREC)…………………………………………………………………………………… 18
4.6 Use of Laboratories……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18
4.7 Faculty support for Projects ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 18
4.8 Doing a Project at Work……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
4.9 Indemnity, Insurance and EHS matters …………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
4.10 Adding Value ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
5 Requirements for Undertaking Group Projects ……………………………………………………………………………………… 21
5.1 Preliminary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
5.2 Group Structure and Division of Work …………………………………………………………………………………………. 21
5.3 Registration forms, Proposals, Progress Reports, Final Report…………………………………………………………. 22
5.4 Supervision……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
5.5 Contingency planning…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
5.6 Assessment principles for individual contributions…………………………………………………………………………. 22
6 Capstone Project is … a very special subject………………………………………………………………………………………… 24
7 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
7.1 Appendix A Capstone Registration Form (White Form)……………………………………………………… 26
7.2 Appendix B Capstone Assessment Form ………………………………………………………………………………… 28
7.3 Appendix C: Capstone Proposal ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 36
7.3.1 Proposal Assessment Form…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 39
7.4 Appendix D Capstone Progress Report …………………………………………………………………………………… 41
7.4.1 Progress Assessment Form…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
7.5 Appendix E: Capstone Final Report…………………………………………………………………………………………. 44
7.5.1 Capstone Final Report Assessment Form……………………………………………………………………………….. 47
7.6 Appendix F: Capstone Project Poster Presentation …………………………………………………………………. 49

1 What is Capstone Project all About?
Capstone Project is a very special subject, quite unlike any that you will have done previously.
You undertake it in the final semester(s) of your studies and it is your opportunity to
demonstrate that you can indeed meet the levels of performance expected of a professional
engineer. It is a subject in which you will have individual responsibility for the timely
completion of a significant engineering project under the guidance of a member of academic
staff. You will be expected to do much more than “get something working”. You will be
expected to demonstrate a professional level of preparation, planning, execution, testing and
documentation. You will be expected to meet a number of strictly enforced milestones and to
take considerable initiative in overcoming obstacles. The Capstone Project is our way of
determining whether you are ready to graduate. If you miss milestones or submit work that is
not of a professional standard your course completion may be delayed by one or more
semesters.
YOU are responsible for getting your project done on time to an acceptable level. Your
supervisor helps you but is not responsible for your performance. In particular, the submission
of your final report (also called Thesis or Dissertation) is the equivalent of a final exam in a
subject – if you miss the exam, you fail, if you miss the submission deadline, you fail. The only
exception is Special Consideration according to UTS Rules.
The Capstone Project has important educational objectives. Although each project is different
and the relative emphasis will vary, the subject will involve you in:
 Bringing together and integrating knowledge and skills gained in the course as a whole;
 Reinforcing and developing competencies that have not been sufficiently emphasized in your
choice of subjects or engineering practice to date;
 Defining a substantial engineering study or design task and carrying it to completion within a
specified time and to a professional standard;
 Completing a comprehensive written and bound report that places the project in context, defines
its objectives, and describes the work done and the resulting conclusions or recommendations;
 Bridging the gap between your undergraduate studies and your professional future, and
demonstrating professional competencies and capabilities; and
 Demonstrating initiative and creativity, and taking pride in the achievement of a difficult task.
Doing the project will assist you in developing many of the attributes expected of a UTS
engineering graduate. For example:
 Values and social and community contexts – the report should describe the project‟s value to
society;
 Maturity – personal responsibility for the identification and formulation of a substantial problem
or objective and writing a major formal report of the work;
 Information literacy – projects will extend and further develop information retrieval, analysis,
synthesis, argumentation and communication skills;
 Problem posing and solving – projects will identify a significant engineering problem and
describe a solution to that problem;
 Management skills – project management, self-management and time-management skills will be
needed for the completion and reporting of a substantial project within an agreed time-frame;
 Technical expertise – application of design method, technical expertise and research skills to a
real, substantial and complex problem to which the solution is not known in advance; and
 Academic literacy, numeracy, oral comprehension and presentation skills – formal reporting,
presentation and language skills will be developed by the requirement of writing a
comprehensive, formal, structured report, correctly employing technical, mathematical and nontechnical
terminology.