Industry Design Projects

The MS3015 Industrial Design Project is a 13-week course, where MSE students solve your industry-provided problem through materials design, prototyping, and testing using Stanford’s Design Thinking framework to guide problem-solving.

Students will work in teams to address your design brief using a user-centric approach – progressing through empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test phases. They will translate conceptual ideas into working models or prototypes supported by material science principles.

Recommended Project Topics:

  • Product lightweighting or redesign
  • Packaging innovations using sustainable materials
  • Materials substitution or cost optimisation
  • Performance improvement under heat, pressure, or stress
  • Product recyclability, repairability, or end-of-life design
  • Biomedical product/material improvement
  • Thermal, acoustic, or corrosion mitigation

We welcome challenges that intersect material performance, design feasibility, and user needs.


Employer Benefits:

  • Gain innovative solutions to real material challenges
  • Interact with cross-functional student teams
  • Co-brand project outcomes in final presentations and showcases

Student Skillsets:

  • Year 3
  • Product-materials design and failure diagnosis
  • CAD, SolidWorks, FEM simulations
  • Research + prototyping under engineering constraints
  • Sustainability and commercial feasibility analysis
Industrial Design Project
Option 1
Option 2
13-week Period
Jan – May
Aug – Nov
Employer Application Period
By Nov 15th
By Jun 15th

Throughout the project, students are required to:

  • Structured documentation of design process
  • Functional prototypes (low- to mid-fidelity)
  • Material justifications and technical reasoning
  • Final presentation and demo showcase
 

Employer Requirements 

  • Submit a clear and relevant design brief before semester begins
  • Assign an industry mentor (1–2 hours/month engagement)
  • Participate in the kick-off (week 1-2), mid-term (week 7), and final (week 13) sessions
  • Provide post-project feedback and any applicable next steps within a month of final showcase and judging

Projects are jointly assessed by NTU faculty and industry mentors. Industry input carries weight in evaluating design relevance, feasibility, and presentation quality.

1. Is there any cost involved?

There is no fee for participation. Your organisation’s main commitment is to provide a well-defined design brief and minimal mentoring time.

 

2. Can we bring our team to observe the presentations?

Absolutely. The final showcase in Week 13 is open to company stakeholders, and many partners choose to bring technical or HR teams to scout potential interns or hires.

 

3. What if we wish to take the student solution further?

We’re happy to discuss follow-up options, including internship conversions, research collaborations, or intellectual property considerations.

 

4. Can we co-brand or reference the collaboration publicly?

Yes – with mutual agreement, we can support joint publicity, case studies, or LinkedIn features highlighting this collaboration.

Contact Us to Explore Potential Collaborations

Dr. Lee Mun Wai

Strategic Lead, Innovation Ecosystem Development (Research & Enterprise)

Email: [email protected]