Print12.1 Goals and Milestones
The course project is a significant part of learning in this course. In this process, you are set to perform a detailed evaluation of a specific technology, design, or approach, and, as the next step, you explore the path of this technology to implementation in a specific setting or locale.
For your project, you will need to pick a topic – a specific technology for assessment. Here, by technology, we mean a concept, a process to produce or convert something, design, approach, or a device. It should be relatively innovative and promising from your point of view. You can choose something from the area of your professional experience or a new area that you’d like to explore. The work you do on the project will surely push you to learn more about the topic you choose, so it is good to link it to your current or future professional interest.
There are two main objectives of the course project:
- Perform assessment of a particular type of technology in the sustainability context
- Develop a proposal for implementation of this technology at a specific locale
By locale, we mean the geographic location, but not only that! Location of the project will also dictate a variety of conditions, such as climate, terrain, available infrastructure, local market and economy, political situation, policy landscape, population, cultural aspects - all those things, in fact, will have a profound impact on how a specific technology is perceived by stakeholders and how effective its implementation may be. In other words, building and implementation of a project should always be specific to the locale to ensure maximum benefits and economic success.
To ensure successful technology implementation, you will need to look at your subject from different angles - technical performance, environmental impact, marketability, social impact - and recommend metrics for such evaluation. An important aspect of the project will be to apply your assessment to a specific setting and, based on your findings, propose an implementation scenario for your case.
The table below lists the key milestones for the EME 807 Course project development with submission requirements and the portion of the grade assigned for each step. The due dates for submissions are in Canvas; please look them up and plan ahead.
| Milestones | What should be submitted | % of total grade |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone 1: Selection of Topic |
Preliminary title of the project and one paragraph justification | 1% |
| Milestone 2: Project Outline |
PowerPoint Presentation (5-8 slides) with audio to present project ideas to the class (subject to peer review) | 5% |
| Milestone 3: Peer Reviews (2 outlines) |
Constructive commentary on 2 peers project outlines: ~1 page summary by set of rubrics | 4% |
| Milestone 4: Technical Review |
Comprehensive review on technical background and status of technology – written report (5-10 pages) | 15% |
| Milestone 5: Proposal Draft |
First draft of project proposal – written document with all required sections (optional) | |
| Final Project Proposal | Written final proposal of technology implementation (limit of 20 pages, total) | 25% |
Note: More guidance on these submissions is provided in the following sections of this Lesson.