DP5: Bachelor Eindproject

In Design Project 5 (DP5), also called Bachelor End Project, students apply the knowledge and skills they have gathered and competences they have been working on so far in the bachelor. In this way the project can be seen as a ´Proof of Competence´ for the whole bachelor programme. At the same time, the project is part of the learning trajectory to become a BSc Industrial Design Engineer and therefore the directional activities are corresponding with the Final Attainment Levels.

DP5 revolves around a design assignment for a real client, with the exploration and application of (new) knowledge in context. This project requires students to learn:

• individual cooperation with a client,

• to plan and anticipate,

• to be sensitive to their own project and performance, and

• to be willing and able to correct the project if required.

Effectively, this means a student needs to (learn to) individually manage the relation between cause (effort) and effect (results) and act responsible. Participants in DP5 will be offered specific workshops as support for their design process and presentation.

Once started, each student develops their own design goal and project goals within the given case. The student also sets up a project structure and planning accordingly, including:

• strategies for integrating knowledge,

• application of design tools and methods, and

• fruitful cooperation.

The structure of DP5 can be seen in phases. Students start with a two week-long analysis phase, where they collectively explore and redefine the problem. This is followed by an individual ideation phase of three weeks. And finally, the course concludes with a conceptualization phase of four weeks where the concepts are further developed, prototyped, and tested.

Depending on the selected case and the goals of each individual student, focus and emphasis can lay on different phases and elements. The set up for the project and its deliverables are agreed upon by the design coach and the client. In relation to the ever-evolving complexity of design challenges, this course will employ design thinking as a base in combination with systemic design methodologies.

During the project, students come together with their client four times to present and discuss their planning, as well the achieved results. At the end, each student should deliver a credible design proposal that offers value for all relevant stakeholders.

In DP5 students are assessed summative on all Learning Objectives of at the end of the course.

The students are assessed formative at midterm on their framing of the content of the project brief and the quality of the first design directions. This midterm assessment is divided in two parts: a peer assessment and an assessment by a committee of coaches and clients.

To support the assessors and safeguard a consistent final assessment across all assessors we make use of a rubric with assessment criteria defined at seven levels. Coaches also keep track of coaching discussions (journal) during the project.

The deliverables for each student for DP5:

1. Mid-term report (formative)

2. Final design (summative)

3. Final report (summative)

4. Reflection report (summative)

The weight of each deliverable in the final grade is determined as:

Final Report 60%

Final Design 30%

Reflection Report 10%

The final grade of each student is provided by a committee of assessors. For this project a final grade of 6.0 or higher and sub-grades of 5.0 or higher, are required for passing the course. The assessment is provided to the students by the use of a course-specific assessment form and through feedback and evaluation meetings between student and coaches.