R&D Project (10 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

This course runs from September to December and sees students integrated into one or more of the Futuristic Interactive Technologies research group RDI projects.
- The project(s) will be introduced during the opening two weeks of the course;
- In the next weeks, student groups are expected to research (under supervision) the problem and present a feasible solution;
- After the proposed solutions have been approved, student groups will draw up a project management plan that will see them through to the end of the course;
- The project plan must include development, implementation and scientific testing of the solution;
- The tangibles for the course are a working solution and comprehensive test report.

Objective

After completing the course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and utilise suitable networking opportunities to ideate and liaise with various R&D project stakeholders
- Demonstrate where to find appropriate funding instruments for R&D projects
- Prepare the key research plan sections of a project funding application
- Work as part of a TUAS initiated R&D project
- Apply suitable research methods for identifying and defining R&D project objectives
- Independently utilize CDIO principles towards making a research prototype that meets R&D project objectives
- Compile an academic publication that presents the results of an R&D project
- Present research findings and results to a peer audience

Content

The course is divided into several inter-linked phases
- Learning about funding applications and understanding the key parts of a research plan
- Defining a research question from a TUAS initiated R&D project
- Preparing a suitable research protocol to answer the defined research question
- Developing a research prototype
- Collecting data with the prototype
- Writing and presenting the results in a suitable academic format

Materials

Due to the practical nature of this course, there is no prescribed learning material. All necessary documentation and other material toward the successful completion of Advanced Game Technologies will be shared with students throughout the course.

Teaching methods

The R&D Project course is taught by means of:
1. Contact sessions and lectures;
2. Lecturer and TGL engineer guidance during on-site project work;
- This includes code reviews for programmers and asset evaluations for content producers
3. Customer coaching during on-site project work
4. Self-learning and discovery by students

This course is entirely hands-on and students are expected to take initiative for their learning.

Exam schedules

This course has no formal examination

Pedagogic approaches and sustainable development

This course leans on CDIO principles and takes a project-based learning approach.

Completion alternatives

If the COVID19 situation demands it, we will react toward a more online-driven approach.

Student workload

Each student of the R&D Project course are each expected to complete 270 hours of work:
Below is a rough indication of the hours for different work categories - these are purely an indicator and are expected to be different for each group and can change according to group needs:
1. Contact sessions and lectures (35-45 hours)
2. Coaching during on-site work (60-100 hours)
3. Independent work (100-140 hours)
Students are expected to keep individual work logs of their activities related to the various projects. These work logs form part of the course assessment and will be reviewed regularly throughout the course.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The project is evaluated as follows:
GROUP grade...
- Expert evaluation of the deliverable (H-5);
- Customer evaluation of the deliverable (H-5);
- Lecturer overall impression of the deliverable (H-5).
The average of these three gives a group grade for each student per project.

INDIVIDUAL student per group grade
Each student will also be measured on their contribution to the group's activities by:
- Self assessment of the contribution made;
- Group member evaluation of the contribution made;
- An overall impression by the course lecturers of the individual work logs.
The average of these three gives an individual grade for each student per project.

The course grade will be calculated:
(GROUP grade x 0,3) + (INDIVIDUAL grade x 0,7)

Qualifications

This course consolidates all the practical and theoretical interactive technology software engineering and project management skills you have learned throughout your studies. This course serves to prepare you for a successful final thesis in your last semester of engineering studies.

Further information

Students are responsible for:
1. Distributing and collecting customer and expert feedback forms for their project evaluations.
2. Filling and returning peer- and self-evaluation forms at the end of the project.
Failure to produce these documents will impact the course grade.
The lecturers will provide the appropriate forms at the time they are required.