SELECTION OF PROJECT

How do I select a Final Year Project? – Is perhaps the biggest and most essential question that students have at the start of the final year or final semester.  We wish there was a simple answer to this question but the truth is there is no simple answer! However there are a few basic guide lines that students can check before they decide on a certain project. This articles coves some of these questions regarding the final year project – Read this, we are sure it will be worth your time.

The following are some of the key things that students have to consider before they choose a project. The same are explained in some detail in the text below.

• Reality check !!
• Students own expertise
• Complexity
• Cost
• Duration
• Availability of hardware and software

Reality Check : We understand that when you start looking for a final year project, the natural tendency is to look for project ideas or concepts that are extraordinary and really innovative. While we at Ingens Tech encourage out of the box thinking and innovative ideas, students can sometimes go into science fiction mode and start thinking of unrealistic ideas that are often straight out of movies!! So students should always be realistic about the ideas, and as always the idea is to consult a experienced person when in doubt.

Students Own Expertise: Also before selecting a project its always better check if there is some project domain that you are already familiar with. Its best to stick to a field that you might have some previous experience with. For example if you have done a workshop in robotics at some point in time along the course of your education – it’s better to stick to robotics, that way you are more likely to choose a project that is good, since you already have some understanding of the area.

Complexity: We realize that the whole aim of the project work is to learn something new, and learn as many new things as possible. But in a quest to add features to the final year project, students sometimes end up making the project so complex that they are either not able to complete the project in time, leading to last minute anxiety and stress. It’s always best to select a moderately complex project to start with and then add features to the project if time and other resources permit.

Cost: This is one the most common things that students go wrong with. Again, in an effort to build the best final year project students can go overboard and end up choosing projects that are very expensive. Students need to remember that a expensive project does not automatically mean it’s a good project, plenty of excellent projects that are technically far superior are possible at moderate costs. We at Ingens Tech discourage unnecessarily expensive projects even of the students are in a position to spend on the projects.

Duration: A completed and working project, on the day of the final project demonstration – this is the ultimate aim of any final year project. But that is possible only if students select a project considering the time that is available. Considering that many students begin their projects only in the final semester this very important. Students have only 3 months in most cases, this may look like a big duration at the start, but in reality this is a very small duration considering all the work that goes into a project completion. Hence it is very important to choose a project consultancy or company that has excellent infrastructure and availability of tools and components that are needed for the project.

Availability of Hardware and Software: This is also something that students take for granted at the start of the project. Students should be careful if the software and hardware needed for the projects are readily available. Again the project company or consultancy becomes very important here. For example if the project uses some imported components and if the project center does not already have it available, then three months is a very short time for importing the same and then building a project with the same.

These are some of the key things that students should consider, to ensure that the projects are completed in time and without any last minute tension and anxiety. The key is to choose projects that are realistic within the time frame and selecting a project center or consultancy that had adequate infrastructure and competence to handle your project requirements.