Information for interested ECE students, 2012-13

A great opportunity for senior design project Students (ECE 396 and ECE 397) to work their project with a real client!

Introduction

Interdisciplinary Product Development (IPD) at UIC is a two-semester curriculum that integrates the latest technologies and best practices for innovative product development. The course combines Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering, and MBA/Marketing students from all three colleges to work together in cross-functional teams to research and develop new product concepts. The course focuses on the early stages of the product development process, from identifying market opportunities through initial prototyping. Eschewing the old sequential model of product development, in which a design idea originates in a business unit, is given visual form by industrial design, and then passed off to engineering, this course teaches current best practices of true integration of all three disciplines from the very earliest stages of product development.

The course is team taught by faculty from the three colleges. Each year, a corporate sponsor is recruited to serve as the client, and provides the financial support to incorporate outside resources and materials not normally available to an academic environment. Funding is used to cover the course expenses associated with paying for professionally conducted market research, team building exercises, innovation training, rapid prototyping, materials and supplies, as well as other significant course expenses. The client company, in association with the IPD faculty, also provides an interesting and challenging assignment that will result in the research, conception and development of innovative product concepts for the client.

Our clients

This is a funded undergraduate class. We receive fund from our clients (Cobra, Dell, Cricket ..) to innovate a new product that meets specific client requirements. Below is a list of IPD clients for the last three years; where ECE students were involved.

• 2009/2010: Cobra electronics www.cobra.com
• 2010/2011: Dell Corp www.dell.com
• 2011/2012: Cricket www.mycricket.com
• 2012/2013: TBD

Prerequisite

• 1. Senior Undergraduate ECE Student. (No Graduate students are allowed to register for this course)
• 2. Minimum Engineering GPA is 3.0
• 3. Good Oral and Written English Communication Skills.
• 4. Good Team Worker.

We accept only 14 ECE students in the class and it is based on first come first serve.

What do you need to do to register for this class/program?

• 1. In Fall 2012: You need to register for ECE 396 IPD section (Call # 29320). You need to register for ECE 396 in the fall for 2 credit hours.
• 2. In Spring 2013: You need to register ECE 397 for 2 credit hours and ECE 493 (as a technical elective) for 3 credit hours.

So, you will receive a total of 7 credit hours for doing your senior design project.

Meeting Time and Day

The class meets every Thursday from 2:00PM to 4:50PM at the Innovation Center (1240 S Harrison) in the Fall and Spring semesters. There is no additional meetings for registering ECE 493 (Technical Elective).

Credit for ECE 493 as a Technical Elective In the spring semester, You need to fill a waiver form to get ECE 493 counted as a technical elective. You can get the form from Tina in SEO 1020. It should be signed by the ECE Undergraduate Director and Prof. Loay Abusalah.

Website

To get general information about the program, please visit www.ipd.uic.edu

What do you do if the class (ECE 396-IPD session) is full?

In general, this class get filled quickly. Once full (14 students), you can still email Prof. Loay Abusalah at labusa1@uic.edu and he will have your name listed in the waiting list. You will be contacted if any of the registered students drop the course. You can also check the UIC registration website in a daily basis in case there is an open spot.

Feel free to contact Prof. Loay Abusalah www.ece.uic.edu/~labusa i