From Campus to Career
Project feedback usually arrives after the project is finished
By the viva, nothing can change. This session puts practitioners in front of student projects while there is still a semester left — reviewing the problem statement, the architecture, the technology choice and what each student personally contributed.
The feedback that matters arrives too late to use.
Most project feedback comes at evaluation, when the work is finished and the marks are the only thing left. Whether the problem was worth solving, whether the architecture made sense, whether the technology choice can be justified — all of that is decided months earlier, usually without anybody experienced in the room.
A review while the project is still moving changes the project. A review afterwards only changes the mark.
What gets reviewed
27 topics across 5 areas. Five things a practitioner looks at.
The Problem StatementWhether it is worth solving at all.6
- How to choose a strong final-year project
- Problem statement review
- Who has this problem
- Why it matters
- What already exists
- Whether the scope is realistic
Architecture & TechnologyWhether the choices can be defended.6
- Project architecture review
- Technology stack review
- Why this technology and not another
- What trade-offs were accepted
- Where it will not scale
- What is over-engineered
Individual ContributionThe question every interview asks.5
- How to demonstrate your personal contribution
- What each student built
- How work was divided
- What decisions they made
- What they can genuinely claim
The ExplanationA project you cannot explain is not evidence.5
- How to explain your project in an interview
- Project presentation practice
- What recruiters look for in student projects
- Starting with the problem
- Handling follow-up questions
The ArtefactsWhat survives after the viva.5
- GitHub portfolio review
- Documentation and README
- Turning college projects into portfolio projects
- Building proof of skill through projects
- Demo and screenshots
Projects we review
- AI and machine learning projects
- Web application projects
- Mobile application projects
- Data projects
- IoT and embedded projects
- Core engineering and design projects
What students bring
- The problem statement
- Current architecture or design
- The technology chosen so far
- What is built already
- What each person did
- What they are stuck on
How the session runs
Students present their projects in small groups to a practitioner, who asks the questions an interviewer would and then says plainly what would change their view of it. Feedback covers the problem, the design, the contribution and the explanation. Where the project is still in progress, the review ends with what to change before it is finished.
What your students leave with
- A problem statement that is worth solving and can be defended
- Architecture and technology choices reviewed by somebody who ships
- A clear account of each student's individual contribution
- A project that will hold up under interview questioning
- A GitHub repository somebody else can understand
- Specific changes to make while there is still time
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
A review while the project is moving changes the project.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.