How to Select Your Engineering Project Topics – Ultimate Guide to Brilliance
So, the time has come for you to select your engineering project. The aim is to find an innovative and stimulating idea. Today we teach you how.
Engineering Students in India
Image Source: indiatoday.in
Step 1: Look for Motivation and Expiration
An idea, a project, an unfound door; an idea, a project, a door. And all the promising talents. Anxious and thirsty, you have walked the troublesome road of an engineering student. Which of us hasn’t lost countless hours of sleep? Which of us hasn’t wished to grasp brilliant innovation in the palm of our hands? Which of us doesn’t seek awe when looking for the first time at our finished project?
Let’s give the first step forward. Looking for motivation and expiration from our engineering idols and hearth-speaking artists. Read the biography of your favorite engineer, watch documentaries, put on that motivational song you love and look at a painting from a shivering artist. Very often we find inspiration just by hearing and reading about our own idols and their personal lives. We imagine his/her life with images we never saw. We envision their rough path and ultimately success. We wish to achieve what they have achieved. To feel the taste of that ultimate success. Sometimes, very often I must admit, me personally feel my life is very “symbiotic” to some aspects of my idol’s life. Thus, building up inside this urge to go out and strive to do better; come closer to their own success; personal satisfaction.
While this alone may not give you new ideas to work on (although it might), it will most likely give you the urge to read more, sought more info and data. We often find new ideas while reading new articles, or even people’s commentaries; even when watching a Ted Talk. Sometimes, we do all of this and doesn’t work. However, do not disregard this process. It’s not unusual for someone to be focused on something completely irrelated, and because he/she had been previously doing research and study, a new idea strikes as a lightening. Even if our mind is not conscionably looking for ideas at that precise moment.
Bottom line: Learn more about people that inspire you. Go through the art you love, either if it’s music, cinema, painting, doesn’t matter. Do not disregard the process of finding motivation and inspiration in others work and life.
“Engineers … are not superhuman. They make mistakes in their assumptions, in their calculations, in their conclusions. That they make mistakes is forgivable; that they catch them is imperative. Thus, it is the essence of modern engineering not only to be able to check one’s own work but also to have one’s work checked and to be able to check the work of others.” ― Henry Petroski
Step 2: Brainstorm Alone, With the Team and Your Mentor
It can be an individual project or a team project. Either one or the other requires brainstorming. Probability says you won’t stick to your first idea. All good projects require at least some amount of brainstorming. Do it when you are alone, walking around in your neighborhood, while relaxing at the beach, even when you are showering. Devote some of your alone time to consider a wide variety of possibilities.
Brainstorm with your team and/or friends and mentor. Gather your trustworthy acquittances, people’s knowledge you admire, your classmates or even friends from different areas besides engineering. Debate with them your ideas and hear what they have to say. Take notes. Be interested in their point of view and never fully disregard anything. Do this as many times as possible. If you have a close group of friends, great, probably some of them even are engineering students themselves and need to discuss ideas also. In fact, some of the best electrical engineering project ideas I have crossed with came from ordinary group chats.
As I have already briefly mentioned, take notes, keep track of your ideas and the research you have done for each and one of them. Maybe you want to get back to an older idea that suddenly seems more intriguing and promising. A computer or a book, keep an history of your brainstorming process.
“I take the vision which comes from dreams and apply the magic of science and mathematics, adding the heritage of my profession and my knowledge of nature’s materials to create a design. I organize the efforts and skills of my fellow workers employing the capital of the thrifty and the products of many industries, and together we work toward our goal undaunted by hazards and obstacles. And when we have completed our task all can see that the dreams and plans have materialized for the comfort and welfare of all. I am an Engineer, I serve mankind, by making dreams come true.” – Anon
Step 3: Test and Consider Some Ideas, Keep Budget and Assets in Mind
Select the most promising ideas and test them how you can. Try to see how accomplishable they are. Remember that not every project has to be “revolutionary and life-changing”. You just need one good working project that you can devote to. Don’t be afraid to disregard ideas and comeback to them later.
One thing you must always keep in mind is time and money. Is the project too expensive? Is it too time-consuming? Consider the technology needed, the manpower, the assets, the budget, everything. How well can you adapt to those requirements? If not, disregard them and move on. You don’t want to find yourself with half the project done and no more budget or time to finish it. Work hard but work smart.
Consider Everything
Image Source: shutterstock.com
Step 4: Pick the Topic Who Makes You Shiver and Start Planning
Sooner then what you might think, you’ll come a cross with the topic that makes your whole-body shiver. Once you feel that excitement you will know where to go. We can’t emphasis enough how important it is to have a plan before you actually get to work. The more you plan the less hassle, and most likely, less missteps you will go through before you complete your project.
If it’s a team project, make sure every single member of the team agrees and is exciting by the topic. If the team isn’t all in the same page, it will eventually become stressful and harder to complete. It’s important to everyone to contribute to the idea and feel safe with the topic at hand. Have brainstorming meetings, testing meetings, and planning meetings. Create and maintain a healthy and motivational workplace and workflow.
“It is a great profession. There is the satisfaction of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer’s high privilege.” ― Herbert Hoover
What About Your Idea? Your Topic?
Are you an engineer or a student? Share with our community some topic ideas, let’s create a healthy and productive debate. Who knows you might end up motivating someone to follow a specific topic. What do you find most interesting?
About the Author
Júlio Ventura Digital Marketer, Webmaster, Writer, and Tech Enthusiast. Undergraduate in Translation from Faculty of Letters in Lisbon, Portugal. Postgraduate in Digital Marketing from Lusofona University in Lisbon. On a quest for further knowledge.
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