FAQ

Learn about identification of customer need and market opportunity.
Use creative methods for generation of product concepts.
Learn Rapid Prototyping methods, including use of a 3D printer.
Market research and talk to prospective customers.
Perform financial viability analysis.
Study human interface and usability.
Form teams around products selected by the students.
Build simple prototypes to get early feedback on technical feasibility and customer acceptance.
Present product concepts and financal projections to panel of reviewers.

The class is open to all majors.
Preference will be given to students with prior design or entrepreneurship experience.
Enrollment is limited to 40 students.
Enrollment requires permission of the instructor. Please complete the on-line application form on the MAE 154 Homepage by designated date for full consideration.

The MAE department has approved MAE154 as a Technical Elective (TE) in for Mechanical, and Environmental Engineering. Other engineering departments may follow suit but you need to check with your department and major.
MAE154 is also an approved elective for the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Minor from the Rady School of Management.
All students will receive 4 units of credit.

In most cases students will own the patent rights to concepts they come up with.
We will go into the specifics of patents in the course and consult with the UCSD Technology Transfer office when the patent ideas relate to jobs or research opportunities that students have held on campus.
Awards provided by the VentureWell foundation (previously the NCIIA) , do not take any ownership or patent rights from the students.

- Examples and case studies will be provided.
- Students will come up with their own ideas.
- Students will form their own teams during the concept generation phase of the course.

- Great; project ideas can be generated before the class, during the class, or come from outside the class.

However, if you wish to maintain 100% ownership of your idea, then this project is not well suited for this class. This class is based around team projects.
Since the projects and any resulting patents belong to the students, it will be up to the student teams to determine how to share ownership of any outcome of the class. However, to help students a number of models of ownership will be presented that are aimed at motivating all team members and also rewarding long-term commitment to the project.

- At the end of the course each team will present their product design and financial projections to a panel of experts from the San Diego business community.
- This panel will select winning teams and funds will be awarded to continue development of the product at UCSD. These funds come from a grant from the VentureWell foundation (previously the NCIIA). Per the grant guidelines, use of funds awarded in MAE154 do not reduce student ownership of their concepts or patents.

- All products must be of the nature that a simple prototype could be built by UCSD students within 3 quarters using undergraduate lab facilities. The prototypes can include, mechanical, electronic, and software components.
- All products must have end-users who can be consulted during the product development process.
- Products may be with a for-profit or non-profit objective, but all products must have a viable plan for financial sustainability.

Permission of the capstone design course instructor is required before a project can be incorporated into a course, and students wishing to pursue this option should contact the capstone design instructors early on.
Many projects will require funding for parts and patent protection. Some teams will receive funding for this pursue from the end-of-quarter MAE154 review panel. Other teams will be responsible for their own funding.
Many innovative products are multi-disciplinary and may involve teams of students from different engineering majors. In such a case the product may be developed in more than capstone design class simultaneously, and it may be necessary to attract additional engineering students to the project to complete it. Alternately, some of the project could be implemented outside of a course.
Teams that continue their product development after MAE154 can apply to be part of the The Basement and continue to receive advisor guidance.
All teams will be encouraged to participate in the newly created Zahn Prize competition for cash awards.

- Regardless of whether you decide to start your own company or not, you will learn how product design integrates both engineering and business needs.
- These skill will be helpful whether you work in a large company or small startup.
- If you are an engineering major you will gain an appreciation and skill in marketing and business considerations.
- If yo are a engineering major you will gain experience in the Product Design process and how engineering impacts business and product considerations.