Last Updated: 05/01/2026 | All information is accurate and still up-to-date

In the ISE Senior Design Program, student teams solve real business problems for your company. In addition, you gain valuable insights while supporting student learning and development.

• Gain fresh and innovative solutions that challenge standard thinking
• Identify and evaluate potential future hires throughout the semester
• Strengthen your employees’ leadership through mentoring and team guidance
• Access university expertise, tools and faculty support
• Help shape the next generation of engineers while solving real problems

Senior Design Sponsor Opportunities

Throughout the semester, students share updates through presentations, reports, emails and conference calls. As a result, you stay informed and engaged during each phase. At the end, you receive the final project report. Moreover, you act as a stakeholder and provide input on the team’s evaluation.

Our submission process is simple and easy to follow. First, complete the Senior Design Sponsor Form. Then, our Undergraduate Services Coordinator will contact you shortly. To help you prepare, we provide clear guidelines for both you and your student team. In addition, you can review past projects to see examples. Therefore, you can move forward with confidence.

All donations support multiple projects in the ISE senior design program. In addition, no goods, services or deliverables, including intellectual property, are offered or expected in return. Therefore, please direct contributions to the ISE Senior Design Fund through the NC State Engineering Foundation.

What Your Student Team Will Deliver

You can expect strong effort, clear communication and professionalism from your student team. In addition, an ISE faculty member mentors the team throughout the semester. The project begins with the team’s proposal, which outlines goals and expectations.

Communication drives a successful project. Therefore, the student team will contact you on a regular basis. They will also provide interim reports and updates to keep you informed. As a result, you stay engaged and aware of progress at each stage.

The project concludes with a final report and presentation. In addition, the team may share other materials that support their work when appropriate.

How to Get the Most From Your Sponsorship

To get the most from your sponsorship, assign a primary point of contact for your student team. This contact should communicate with the team for one to two hours each week. In addition, they should be available to answer questions and provide direction on project tasks and outputs. At the end, the contact will evaluate the team’s performance using a provided grade sheet.

To ensure a strong start, define your project scope and desired outcomes early with the ISE department. Therefore, we recommend submitting your project 60 to 90 days before the semester begins. As a result, your team has enough time to prepare a clear project plan. After submission, a faculty leader will contact you to discuss next steps.

Explore Past Projects

Exploring past senior design projects helps you understand the value of sponsorship. In addition, you can see the types of problems students solve for real companies. As a result, you gain ideas for projects that fit your needs. You also learn how teams approach analysis, design and communication. Moreover, these examples show the quality of student work and final deliverables. Therefore, you can set clear expectations for your own project. By reviewing past projects, you prepare more effectively and start with confidence. In turn, this preparation helps you create a stronger proposal and achieve better outcomes with your student team.