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Faculty and Student Design Projects
Tennessee MEP connects manufacturers with University of Tennessee engineering faculty and students to tackle real manufacturing challenges — bringing fresh perspective, academic rigor, and hands-on problem solving to your facility.
We start with a no cost Gemba walk. No commitment required.
TENNESSEE MEP ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SERVICES
Real Problems. Real Students. Real Solutions.
Tennessee manufacturers often face engineering challenges that are too specialized for off-the-shelf solutions but not large enough to justify a full consulting engagement. The Faculty and Student Design Projects program fills that gap.
Tennessee MEP works with the University of Tennessee's Tickle College of Engineering to match your challenge with the right faculty expertise and student team. Past projects have included fast-sampling gas chromatography systems, manufacturing system layout design, interactive exhibit development, and cost-effective process solutions for small-scale operations.
The result is a practical, faculty-advised deliverable — developed at a fraction of the cost of commercial consulting — and a direct connection to the next generation of Tennessee engineers.
Project Timeline
Spring / Summer
Project scoping and team selection
Fall Semester
Research, design development, and manufacturer collaboration
Spring Semester
Solution refinement, final presentation, and prototype or deliverable
Faculty-led projects may follow a timeline less constrained to the academic calendar.
HOW IT WORKS
From Challenge to Solution — Five Steps
Step 1
Identify the Challenge
You and Tennessee MEP work together to define the specific problem, constraints, and success criteria for the project.
Step 2
Project Development
Faculty and students develop their approach using UT labs, workshops, and research resources tailored to your problem.
Step 3
Solution Design
The team develops practical solutions — ranging from product designs and prototypes to process improvements and system recommendations.
Step 4
Ongoing Collaboration
Regular check-ins between your team and the students keep solutions grounded in your real-world constraints and refine the work as it develops.
Step 5
Final Presentation
Students present their completed solution with detailed documentation, designs, or a working prototype ready for your evaluation.
Interested in sponsoring a Senior Design project?
Talk to a Tennessee MEP Solutions Consultant to learn how to get your challenge in front of the right UT faculty and student team.
FACULTY AND STUDENT DESIGN PROJECTS, EXPLAINED
Common Questions
What is the Tennessee MEP Faculty or Student Design Projects program? +
The Tennessee MEP Faculty or Student Design Projects program connects Tennessee manufacturers with University of Tennessee engineering faculty and students to solve real manufacturing challenges. Manufacturers bring a specific problem or improvement opportunity, and UT faculty and student teams apply engineering knowledge, university lab resources, and fresh perspective to develop practical solutions — from product designs to process improvements.
What kinds of problems can student design teams solve? +
Student design teams have tackled a wide range of manufacturing challenges including fast-sampling gas chromatography systems, interactive exhibit design, cost-effective irrigation systems for small-scale farmers, manufacturing system layouts, and process improvement projects. If your challenge involves engineering analysis, product design, process design, or prototyping, it is likely a good fit for the program.
How does the Senior Design project timeline work? +
Senior Design projects follow the academic calendar. Projects are typically selected in the spring or summer, with student teams beginning work in the fall semester. Projects culminate at the conclusion of the following spring semester with a final presentation and prototype or deliverable. Faculty-led projects may follow a timeline less constrained to the academic calendar and can be scoped accordingly.
What does a manufacturer need to provide to participate? +
Manufacturers need to identify a specific challenge or improvement opportunity and commit to ongoing collaboration with the student team throughout the project. This includes participating in regular check-ins, providing feedback on proposed solutions, and being available to answer questions about your processes and constraints. The more clearly the problem is defined at the outset, the more impactful the student team's work will be.
What do manufacturers get out of participating? +
Manufacturers receive a detailed solution, prototype, or design recommendation developed by a faculty-advised engineering team — at a fraction of the cost of commercial consulting. Beyond the immediate deliverable, participating manufacturers gain direct access to UT engineering talent for recruiting, build relationships with faculty for future collaboration, and bring an outside perspective to problems that internal teams may have been too close to see clearly.
Have a challenge that could use a fresh set of engineering eyes?
Tennessee MEP will help you scope the project, match you with the right UT team, and support the collaboration from start to finish.