Module 6 IDE | IEM | ME
Consumer products
MODULE MANUAL FOR STUDENTS & STAFF
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This module is organised with as little as bureaucracy as possible. This entails that not everything is explained or prescribed to the last detail for you. Rather, we expect you to make your own plan.
Specifically for the project there is not much set in stone. This offers a lot of freedom to determine what you want to do and how you want to do this. To tackle this amount of uncertainties that inevitably comes with such freedom you are required to take ownership of your own project, just as project teams do in practice. Hence, with this type of freedom, you will also need to take additional responsibility.
To keep communication as efficient as possible, please adhere to the following:
There are some important prerequisites to be enrolled in a project group:
The enrolment in groups is done during or directly after the kick-off. Only students that are enrolled to the Canvas project page (‘Project Consumer products IDE-IEM-ME-1B’) and have answered the student survey on this page will be assigned to a group. For ME students only, it is required that they subscribe to a specialization group of preference on the Canvas course page (‘Product Design’). It is not possible to negotiate on the group composition; allocation is random.
It is NOT required to sign a Confidentiality and IP Rights Agreement in order to participate in the project. However, the use of such formal agreements is a common practice in industry.
A Confidentiality and IP Rights Agreement in student projects is usually an appendix to the Cooperation and Design Service Agreement the University of Twente and the company agreed upon and signed.
In the process of setting up the contracts, teachers and the legal advisors of the University specifically assess whether the rights and obligations in the contracts are acceptable for students.
If you have queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the module coordinators.
In the project, students work together in project groups. A project group ideally consists of nine students in total. Each group preferably consists of two to four students of each educational program.
We consider the project groups to be competing design agencies. As such, we expect a professional attitude towards the organisation, planning and management of the project. We expect you to use all the prior experience of past projects for this one. Workshops on interdisciplinary aspects of teamwork will be provided to assist you further.
It can occur that the collaboration within a group is troublesome to such an extent that it is impossible for a project group to continue the project. The group is responsible for timely recognition of such a situation and for taking measures. This can result in expelling (a) student(s) from the group, for example. The tutor of a group can in such case – together with the module coordinators – propose an alternative way to complete the project.
Each project group is supported by a tutor. The tutor is the first contact person for questions on the project content. The tutor acts primarily as company representative. As such a tutor is predominantly interested in the progress of your design proposal and corresponding deliverables. Obviously, a tutor will also be capable of joining contextual discussions from his/her own expertise/background. Of course, the tutor may not have all the answers to your project questions. In that case you might be referred to another specialist.
The initiative for tutor meetings lies with the project group. The group has considerable freedom in both the frequency and the organisation of tutor-meetings. With this, it is assumed that the group actually treats the tutor as if he/she indeed were the company representative. A tutor may expect that the topics of discussion are clear on beforehand and that the results of discussions are captured. In some cases (e.g. when a group has not been in adequate contact with the tutor), a tutor can approach a project group to convene a meeting.
The tutor will probably have a definite opinion about the optimal results of the assignment; therefore he or she might be inclined to influence the work of the group. However, the project group itself is completely responsible and liable for the justifications of the design decisions. In the project, a number of students will have a tutor role. These student-tutors are comparable with staff-tutors in any sense. The only exception is made during the project exams; a student-tutor will not independently assess a project group.
The company is responsible for the assignment and the briefing thereof. Due to the large amount of project groups, direct contact with the company representatives is limited to the means communicated on the project page of this syllabus. Other means to contact the company representatives is not allowed.
An examiner helps a tutor in the assessment of a project group. An examiner preferably is a tutor in the project him or herself or has past experience in tutoring for this module.
Lecturers are responsible for the organization and coordination of module components, including the assessment thereof. For questions on the subject-matter of these module components, please contact the lecturer responsible. In some cases, a lecturer is supported by a teaching assistant. The lecturer, however, always has the final responsibility.
Throughout this module, most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are scheduled exclusively for project work (this includes project related workshops). Project rooms are available on the entire campus. Click the button below to reserve a room.
No workshops facilities are reserved for you for this module. Just as with everything else in this project, you need to organize them yourself. Access will be provided based on subscription and in consultation with the workshop representatives.
© 2019-2021, University of Twente. Website by Tijn Stoffers and Thimo Willems