ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN CAPSTONE PROJECTS

After 10 years of having implemented the design-build project courses path according to the CDIO standard 5 at the ICT Engineering School of UPC in Barcelona, we have carried out an analysis of the students’ performance in the 12 ECTS capstone project course performed in the 4th year of the bachelor and in which most of the challenges are set by external companies and institutions. In these 10 years, 1440 students have participated in 138 different projects. The course is called Advanced Engineering Project (AEP). This conference communication presents the results of the analysis of the individual students’ performance according to different project features. We have considered the challenge source, (internal/external), the promoter type, the promoter involvement, for external promoters, the contact person profile, the result type, the degree of finalization, the size of the team and the term (Fall /Spring). The chosen performance index used for this study is the individual assessment result, which is quite integrative. About the Internal/External character of the promoters, there is a significant difference (p<0.001) in the AEP average of the individual marks of 0.42 points between projects with external promoters (8.68) and projects with internal promoters (8.26). Considering the type of promoters’ significant differences (p<0.05) are found between projects proposed by companies and both the internal projects proposed by teachers and by research groups. The projects in which the main component was ideation or more ideation than technical performed better than the mostly technical projects (up to 0.92 points in a scale of 10, p<0.001). We have not found any significant differences due to the team size or academic term (Fall or Spring). The reasons for the observed differences are probably due to a different degree of motivation and also to a higher pressure when an external stakeholder is involved, although the differences are smaller than 1 point in a 10 points scale in all cases.