Undergraduate team projects on technology assessment were introduced to the Electrical and Computer Engineering curriculum in 1993. The purpose of the projects is to introduce students to the electronic product creation process. A key objective is to demonstrate to students the relationship among business goals, application/products, engineering practices and technologies. No actual engineering developmental work is conducted in these projects. The deliverables are feasibility reports on the topic of study and are focused on the following aspects:

a. The formulation of a conceptual marketable electronic product or service. The product concerned may include high volume consumer products/services or specialized industrial equipment or processes. Definition of a user feature set will be made and if appropriate industrial design concept and packaging will be considered.

b. Development feasibility. No actual engineering work is performed but students have to show clearly the approaches and technologies needed to realize the final product. Consideration will also include regulatory requirements such as EMI, ESD, etc.

c. To consider costing and realistic pricing policy to realize market potential.

d. To consider the manufacturability aspects of any developed engineering prototype.

e. Preliminary study on market feasibility of the product. This will include market size, acceptance, share, etc.

f. To show realistic planning and scheduling for the project execution. This will also include a budgetary financial planning.

To kick start the projects, a series of lectures are conducted to introduce the students to the various aspects of the project. Following that they are divided into teams of about 8, supervised by a member of the electrical engineering staff. The supervisor will provide a synopsis on the area of study from which the project is to proceed.