Senior Design
Sponsorship Proposal
Presented to XYZ
May 11, 2015
Applying engineering principles to solve
real world problems
Project Description
Senior Design is the culmination of students’ engineering education at the Washkewicz
College of Engineering at Cleveland State University. The two-semester (Fall, Spring)
long capstone course gives students’ the opportunity to apply the many scientific and
engineering principles they have learned throughout their academic careers into one
final project. Senior Design is a graded course required of all engineering students prior
to graduation.
Students work in teams of 3-4 to develop a solution to an engineering problem
presented to them. This includes developing a comprehensive project plan with a
problem description, design alternatives, budget, equipment requirements, time
schedule, final design and creation of a prototype. Each student is expected to spend
up to 200 hours working on the project (up to 800 man-hours for the team),
corresponding to a four credit hour course. All student teams are assigned a faculty
mentor to guide them through their Senior Design projects.
The course concludes with teams making an oral and poster presentation to faculty and
industry representatives at Senior Design Day in May, along with presentations at the
sponsors’ site if requested. Awards are presented to the top three Senior Design teams
as determined by a committee of faculty and industry representatives.
The Benefits of Industry Involvement
Providing students with real-world engineering problems from industry takes Senior
Design to a whole new level. It pushes students to be their very best and helps them
learn what it means to be a true professional. Industry involvement also gives our
students the opportunity take make great connections that could result in full-time
employment.
Senior Design is equally beneficial to the companies that participate. It gives company
employees the opportunity to work with a group of energetic, creative young people who
are eager to make a difference. It also allows a team of budding engineers to work
on challenging problems companies may not have the time and/or resources to
address. There are many examples where solutions provided by Washkewicz College
of Engineering Senior Design teams have been implemented into the operations of
sponsoring companies, resulting in significant cost savings.
Other benefits of company participation include having the opportunity to
“interview” and train a group of prospective employees over a period of eight
months and the good feelings associated with supporting the next generation of
engineering professionals.
An Invitation to XYZ
Today we ask XYZ to thoughtfully consider sponsoring a Washkewicz College of
Engineering Senior Design team at a cost of $5,000 per team for the 2015-16
academic year (August – April). This sponsorship is considered a philanthropic gift to
the CSU Foundation that is tax deductible to the fullest extent under the law.
Of your $5,000 sponsorship, up to $3,000 will be used to cover material costs for the
students’ project design and prototype. The remainder will be used to cover other costs
associated with the projects, such as travel and administrative costs.
Sponsor Benefits Include:
 Opportunity to work with an energetic group of students with fresh ideas
 Employee engagement in the community
 Up to 800 man-hours of innovation
 Cost-effective solutions to engineering problems
 Comprehensive project report, presentation, poster and prototype
 Opportunity to “interview” and train prospective employees
 Recognition in literature promoting Senior Design Day and in
University/College print/web materials
 Opportunity to attend the Senior Design Day event
 Supporting the next generation of engineering professionals
Student Benefits Include:
 Mentoring from a professional engineer and faculty advisor
 Exposure to corporate working environment
 Opportunity to solve real-world engineering problems
 Experience working in teams, presenting, writing
 Career contacts and opportunities
Upon confirming your sponsorship, XYZ would assign a “Project Manager” to serve as a
contact person that works directly with the student team(s). The teams can be viewed
as outside “consultants” working on your defined project, while the Project Manager
would oversee the consultant team’s work to ensure it is meeting company needs.
Prior to the start of the fall semester, the Faculty Advisor and the Project Manager will
meet to determine the scope of the project to ensure it is suitable to both parties. They
will also determine dates for project update meetings throughout the academic year.
We believe your sponsorship will be a “win-win-win” for your company, our students and
the Washkewicz College of Engineering. Thank you so much for your time and
consideration of this proposal.
Please contact Paul Pawlaczyk, Director of Advancement, (216) 875-9754,
p.pawlaczyk@csuohio.edu, to sponsor a Senior Design team today!