Multidisciplinary Senior Design

According to the degree requirements of the College of Engineering and Computing at RIT Dubai, all fifth-year students from the departments of Electrical, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering, as well as Computing Sciences, are required to complete a two-semester Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD I & II) project. Meanwhile, Cybersecurity students are required to complete only one semester of MSD. The MSD experience is a studio course—hands-on, instructor-facilitated, and student-centered.

From concept to completion, students take full ownership of the design journey. They begin by identifying and defining the problem, then move through all phases of development to deliver a working prototype. With support from mentors, they manage every aspect of the project—planning timelines, assessing risks, navigating industry standards, and solving unexpected challenges. More than just executing tasks, our students determine what needs to be done to deliver genuine value to their clients. Each team produces a comprehensive technical report or invention disclosure and showcases their work at Imagine RIT, a festival of creativity and innovation.

Each student team is paired with a faculty guide who mentors them throughout the design process. A co-mentor from a different department may also be assigned, depending on the nature of the project. Driven by innovation and impact, our students consistently deliver meaningful results. Since the Multidisciplinary Senior Design (MSD) program began in 2014, they have brought many unique projects to life, solving real-world problems across a wide range of industries.

Upon completion of the course, students should demonstrate the ability to:

• Evaluate the impact of design decisions on customer satisfaction. 
• Document accurately engineering design activities. 
• Communicate effectively technical information through oral and written means. 
• Employ a rigorous engineering design process. 
• Perform a critical analysis of requirements and engineering specifications. 
• Decompose a complex design problem into a set of manageable components that can be addressed as subsystems and assembled into a final solution. 
• Integrate theory from a broad range of courses, laboratory exercises and co-op experiences to the creative solution of an engineering design problem. 
• Work effectively and ethically in a diverse team environment. 
• Develop and execute a project schedule and budget, and to explain the impact of variations in schedule, critical path, and project costs on the effective execution of an engineering design.

The multidisciplinary structure of our program enables students to engage in a diverse range of project domains. Focus areas include, but are not limited to, assistive and access technologies, medical devices, robotics, aerospace and automotive engineering, automated and measurement systems, imaging, sustainable design, energy efficiency, manufacturing processes, and operational improvements.

Collaboration with industrial partners—both governmental and private—has been a key component of numerous past projects, whether funded or unfunded. These partnerships offer mutual benefits: organizations gain fresh perspectives and innovative solutions, while RIT student teams gain invaluable experience by working on real-world challenges. This industry engagement significantly enhances the preparedness and professional caliber of our graduates.

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