Student projects

Students who are in the final year of their studies in computing/information technology are involved in undergraduate student projects. Over a period of one or (usually) two semesters, the students work in teams on 'real' projects for 'real' clients. The projects involve the development of a substantial software system designed and built to meet the needs of their client. These may involve multimedia, database systems, graphics, games, internet, networking and educational software.

The students engage in the full project management and software development life cycle following some suggested milestones and with guidance from a supervisor within the School.

If you, your business, sporting club, or school has a need for a computer system and can invest some time to work with our students as a client, please consider proposing a project. It is recommended that you suggest systems that are not critical to your business, as the final product will not be handed over until the end of two semester's work and may need further work before it can be used. In some cases, a prototype system may be developed after one semester.

This scheme is an excellent way to trial an idea and have a prototype system developed which you may then later choose to develop or extend professionally. The students are very enthusiastic and are mentored by experienced staff in the Faculty.

During February and early March, all the proposed projects will be assessed for suitability and you will be informed if your project has been selected.

If you know of students who will be enrolling to do an undergraduate IT project and you'd like them to work on your system, please indicate this in the comments section on the proposal form.

What does it cost?

If you are asking for a system to be developed using proprietary software or hardware system(s), you may need to provide these resources to our students to use for the duration of the project. We have some resources available to students on campus. Please discuss your particular software needs with the project coordinator when you propose a project. In some cases, it may be possible for students to use free, open source software to develop your system.

We cannot maintain the software after the project is finished (at the end of the enrolled semester(s)). It is your responsibility as the client to engage in detailed user acceptance testing before using the system. If further development is required you may need to engage some third party software developers (or the students themselves) at your own cost.

What sort of systems could be developed?

Previously our clients have included schools, small businesses and large corporate clients. It is essential that clients are accessible to students and are local.

Some examples of systems that have previously been developed include:

  • Administrative software for a veterinary practice
  • Educational games for schools
  • Networking systems
  • Management software for an accountancy practice
  • HR systems

Other examples of the types of systems possible include: eCommerce website, inventory management system, tourist information system, virtual tours, small retail system, training system, educational software and online products/information kiosk.

Contact us

Projects Coordinator
Grant Meredith
Ph 5327 9808