Industry-sponsored capstone engineering projects bridge theoretical knowledge and professional practice, yet student perceptions of these experiences remain understudied. To address this gap, we surveyed 88 undergraduate engineering students who had completed industry-sponsored capstone projects. Qualitative analysis of their self-reflections revealed three major themes: the development of transversal skills, the benefits of industry support, and the enhancement of disciplinary competency. By exposing them to real-world challenges, students strengthened their abilities in problem-solving, ethics, self-awareness, adaptability, teamwork, and communication. Meanwhile, industry mentors provided real-world viewpoints, connecting theory to practice. By working alongside experienced professionals, students developed disciplinary competency as they applied foundational technical knowledge and skills acquired from their academic training to solve complex, real-world problems. However, our study also uncovered two key areas for potential improvement. Concerns regarding project constraints and course implementation were raised, highlighting the need to continually review project resources, source capstone projects that are relevant to students’ domain expertise, and ensure the robustness of assessment rubrics in view of varying project difficulties. Particularly, the quality and consistency of project mentorship were highlighted. While students generally rated both industry and faculty mentorship positively, better communication and expectation-setting are needed to enhance their capstone experience. Based on these findings, we propose recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and value of industry-sponsored capstone projects in science and engineering curricula.
T et al. (Fri,) studied this question.