2023 Capstone Kick-off Presentation Held at Uzumasa Campus

On July 19, the Kick-off Presentation event for the 2023 Capstone and Pre-Capstone Project was held at KUAS Uzumasa Campus. Undergraduates from the Faculty of Engineering in the latter half of their program (fourth semester onward) presented their project proposals to engineers from KUAS’ numerous partnered companies as well as professors from the KUAS Faculty of Engineering. The event consisted of presentations from each team, a mixer in which the students got to exchange opinions with company representatives, and an award ceremony to commend the teams with the most impressive presentations. A total of 27 partnered companies and 196 students (Capstone: 74, Pre-Capstone: 122) will be participating in this year’s Capstone and Pre-Capstone Project.

The Capstone Project is the culmination of the KUAS engineering program in which students take the first step toward careers as engineers by working in teams to solve problems provided by partnered companies with the support of faculty and industrial professionals. They spend a total of nine months analyzing, prototyping, improving their projects, and then finally making a proposal at the end of the project period. Through this experience, students improve their teamwork and communication skills while deepening their understanding of the abilities and knowledge they need to acquire for their future careers as engineers.

This year’s Pre-Capstone Project has been especially anticipated, as it is the first time that international students are participating in it. Like R&D teams at many major companies, teams will have international members, making the project even more parallel to experience in the actual engineering field.

One student shared his thoughts after presenting his first proposal at the event, commenting “For the first presentation of our project, I liked that I had opportunities to talk with almost all professors at our university. All of them gave their own feedback on our projects and what points we can improve on.”

At the end of the event, the engineers from the partnered companies voted on which team had the most outstanding presentation. The group that took first place for the Capstone Project is working on developing a seat-positioned control system for powered wheelchairs, while the winners of the Pre-Capstone Project have the goal of designing medium-sized indoor hydroponics equipment as a solution to food supply problems.

KUAS would like to thank the engineers from the partnered companies as well as the participating students for their efforts in making this project a meaningful experience for all members involved. The nine-month project is still in its early stages, and there is plenty of progress to look forward to from here onwards. Be sure to check KUAS’ official website and social media channels for periodic updates.