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Integrated Engineering Capstone Design

Capstone Design Day: March 26, 2026

IE capstone teams will be showcasing their design work and prototypes during Design Day on March 26, 2026. More information is found here: Western Engineering Design Day - Events - Western University

This year, the Design Day is a collaborative event including Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Mechatronics Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, and Integrated Engineering.  It is also the first Capstone year for Western's AISE program.     

Design Day showcases the skills of Western Engineering's graduating undergraduate students, who are completing their fourth-year courses. Discover the innovative designs from our talented undergraduate teams and explore their incredible projects. 

All are welcome. No advanced registration is required. Doors open to public at 7 pm. 

 

 

2025-26 Integrated Engineering Capstone Design Teams (IE 4499)

Team HydroWatch

Team Leafy Greens

 

What was meaningful about your capstone design project experience? 

From Team HydroWatch: 

Our Integrated Capstone experience has been both unique and deeply fulfilling. Throughout the Integrated Engineering program, we developed a diverse set of skills through coursework, hands-on projects, and job experiences. Capstone provided an opportunity to bring all of those skills together and showcase what we’ve learned in a meaningful way. 

This project challenged us to grow both technically and in our research capabilities. Working on a long-term, open-ended problem required flexibility, and strong collaboration, ultimately leading to outcomes we are proud of. It also gave us valuable insight into the realities of engineering work, from iterative design and testing to managing timelines and incorporating feedback. 

One of the most rewarding aspects of our Capstone was the strength of our team. We consistently supported one another through challenges, celebrated our successes, and maintained a shared commitment to the project. 

We are also incredibly grateful for the guidance and input from our advisors, whose expertise helped shape our work and pushed us to think more critically. 

Overall, the Integrated Capstone project is the closest experience to real-world engineering that we have encountered during our studies. It has prepared us to enter a wide range of careers with confidence, adaptability, and a strong foundation in both technical and professional skills. 

 

 

From IE capstone students: What are you doing after graduation? Which courses were helpful for your capstone project, for your internship, and/or for your career aspirations? 

*Listed in the alphabetical order of last name; page under development

 

Maya Archer 

Reflecting on the internship and academic training: My internship at McCormick Canada was 12 months long. McCormick is a food manufacturing company producing spices, beans, ketchup, and Frank’s hot sauce. I was supporting leadership with a strong focus on safety such as worker safety and food safety, meeting both American and Canadian standards. Before that I did an internship for 4 month at Scotiabank in Retail Productivity and Lean Analysis. (Watch/read about her co-op experience: TBA)

For my internship, the courses that were most valuable were:

• IE 2298 learning about the V-model and how to complete a project was very useful.
• CBE 2221B Fluid Flow was helpful with working with pipes in the plant.
• MME 3374B was useful for working with and understanding motors and PLC's.  

 

For personal interests: MME 4490A/B and MME 4492A/B were about manufacturing, which is a field I enjoy. 

All the ELI courses we take were a good prep for capstone because they teach essential project management and processes.  

 

 

Meah Bachert 

After degree completion: I will be returning to Shopify full-time as a Software Engineer on the mobile team, starting May 4th, 2026. (In Summer 2024 and Summer 2025, I interned at Shopify on the core mobile team. In Summer 2023, I worked as a Software Engineering Intern at Prolucid Technologies.) (Read about Meah's co-op experience, separately featured: TBA)

Reflection on the academic training: 

• IE 2297A Integrated Systems Engineering & Design has been really helpful across a lot of my projects. The systems thinking and design process we learned there showed up a lot during the first term of capstone.
• AISE 2205A Algorithms & Data Structures was also a really solid fundamentals course and ended up being helpful when preparing for my software interviews.  

 

I also really enjoyed a few of the ELI courses:

• ELI 3000B Managing the Innovation Process was interesting because it focused a lot on early stage product development and prototyping, which connected well with some of the design work we’ve done more recently in capstone.
• ELI 4300B Risk Assessment and Management was valuable for me personally because we had frequent impromptu presentations throughout the term. Earlier in my degree, presenting made me pretty nervous, but that course forced me to practice a lot, and now I actually feel like it is a strength of mine. And this term, I’m really enjoying
• ELI 3100B Planning & Project Management, which has been helpful for organizing work and collaborating effectively with my capstone team. 

 

Benjamin Bell

After graduation, I will have a job working at a company called Marcrest Manufacturing. This company designs and manufactures farming equipment. I have worked at this company in the past and had the privilege to assist in the building of various of the companies upcoming prototypes, most of which have now progressed to being sold to their customers. On that job I got experience welding assemblies together as well as experience on how to laser cut and form metal parts. 
 
The job after graduation will have me working an EIT role in the company’s engineering department helping to update, build and design new models of their machines. I currently plan to work there until I get my full engineering licence and reconsider staying at the company or moving to a new job elsewhere at that time. 

Many of the ELI courses taken in the Integrated program have been helpful for Capstone: 

• Risk Management (ELI 4300B), Project Management (ELI 3100B) and Managing the Innovation Process (ELI 3000A/B) all provide useful tools in helping to succeed in the capstone project. 

 

IE 2298 and ES 1050 also provide powerful tools for completing the capstone design process. 

As for technical electives: 

• MME 4487 Mechatronics System Design is a good course for learning how to design Mechatronic systems. 
• MME 4452 Robotics Manufacturing and Automation is a good course for learning how to automate production processes using robotics and machines. 
• MME 3381 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines is a good course for learning to design and analyze moving mechanisms. 
• CBE 3310 Process Dynamics and Control is a good course for designing systems that can dynamically control various conditions/parameters (such as temperature and lighting) to stay at a specific set point by reacting to uncontrolled disturbances. 

 

 

Nicholas Crees

Throughout my journey in Integrated, I have worked across industries, including startups, data science, and private equity. Integrated Engineering has been an asset in these roles, largely, but not limited to the experience of studying across disciplines. The competency to work across several problems simultaneously has driven a high degree of success in organizations that require me to wear several hats and multi-task.  

After graduation: For my full time work, I am excited to be an Associate Consultant at Bain and Company, a management consulting company that will continue to test my analytical thinking, problem solving, and multitasking skills. Previously, I worked as: 

• Summer '25 - Analyst, Data Science and Strategy @ Birch Hill Equity Partners 
• Summer '24 - Analyst, Client Analytics Consulting @ Bond Brand Loyalty 

  

IE/HBA training impact: The dual with IE and Ivey uniquely equipped me with the end-to-end problem solving toolkit. Specifically, IE was my foundation in creating structure around ambiguity, framing problems, doing thoughtful analysis, and verifying results. Then with Ivey, I have developed the skills to take those results, give them meaning, formulate meaningful strategy, and implement impactful solutions. Having exposure to the end-to-end toolkit meant I was successful at brining projects through to completion, and drive value continently. 

 

Courses that stood out/were helpful: 

• Integrated Design (IE 2298): Framing problems and solutions down to the granular parts and as the whole picture 
• Engineering Experimentation (MME 2285B): Interpreting and validating data to ensure trust with numbers 
• Fluid Dynamics (CBE 2221A/B): Exposure to multi-step, highly structured problem solving 
• Intro to Structural Engineering (CEE 2220A): Hands on building, translating theoretical topics to a physical truss design 
• Managing Innovation Process (ELI 3000A/B): Focus on true problem-centricity and solving around a user

 

Sarah Massad

Plans after graduation: I will be working in family real estate company to develop a better system aiding parties such as the chief officers, agents, and clients for a smoother and well-structured system. I plan to use my skills of problem-solving and my technical knowledge to fill gaps in the company/industry, and expanding operations to bring a unique aspect within the competitive market of real estate. My previous experience in customer service will also aid in understanding client needs and underlying opportunities to expand on. I will also be working towards my P.Eng with interest in working in engineering consultancy and/or product design.

A number of course projects and activities were memorable and meaningful:  

• MME 2285B- Performance testing of a pump to compare with manufacturer's claims. 
• ELI 3000A- Team project on developing a food subscription model at universities to combat food insecurity. 
• ELI 3200B- Emerging opportunity report on AI and fashion apps to help with clothing sustainability. 
• ELI 4110G- Team research project on the ethics of lab grown meat. 
• CEE 2220A- Construction of wooden popsicle bridge.  
• MME 4490A- Advanced Manufacturing course in Germany. This was an immersive experience learning about manufacturing engineering and the German culture surrounding engineering and education in both a modern and historical context. 
• IE 4499- Team capstone project, a home-based flood monitoring system. I learned extensively about the use of soil moisture sensors in detecting early signs of flooding risk.

Makena Murungi

I worked as a Project Engineering Intern in the plastics manufacturing industry, specifically at Ipex Inc. They're one of the largest distributors of PVC piping in North America. Courses valuable for my 12-month internship were: 

• IE 2298 - great practice working though a project lifecycle as well as presentation practice.
• MSE 3301A Materials Selection and Manufacturing Processes - great intro to manufacturing processes.
• It would have loved to have taken MME 4492A/B Production management for engineers before my internship but it was lovely to take the class afterwards, contributing to class from my personal internship experience.
• CBE 3322A heat transfer operations - was dealing with lots of high heat processes.  

 

Courses valuable for capstone: ELI 3000A, great for working with novel ideas and working on the business side of things.  

For my personal Interests, I enjoyed:

• ELI 3100 Project Management - this is the field I want to work in so it is so great to learn about it
• CBE 4427A AI in Chemical Engineering - great intro to LLMs and you do not need a strong coding background
• CBE 4465A Waste Management - really really interesting class on Landfills, great balance of projects and content, also a good way to think/ learn about end life of products

 

Rachelle Darwin Paczesny 

-to be updated-

 

Julianna Quondamatteo

After graduation: I will be travelling quite a bit and then starting full time at GRAM Engineering, a small geotechnical firm based out of Mississauga. This is where I worked last summer, during which time my boss let me engage in a wide range of activities - I did everything from site visits and field tests, drafting/design, PM and monitoring reports. I have since stayed on part-time throughout the school year.  

Courses that were helpful for:

• Engineers in Action: CEE3348 (project management), CEE2220A, CEE2221B, CEE2202A, ELI4100F/G, ELI4110F/G, MSE3360B 
  
  
• Capstone design: CEE3348A, all ELI courses (presentation prep and various soft skills), ELI 4300B (risk assessment), various aspects of other courses as well (hard to remember/think of exactly what came from which course over the years) 
  
  
• My career interests: ALL ELI courses!! Also, CEE3348A, IE2298, CEE2220A, CEE2221B, CEE2202A, CEE4465A/B, MME4492A/B, CEE4478A/B 

 

Adia Shadd

-to be updated-

 

Kevin Shang 

Plans after graduation: Not 100% sure yet, however, I've received return offers from all three internships (below) and would most likely go back to Defence Construction Canada.  

• Summer '23: Geotechnical Engineering Consultant Intern @ DS Consultants Ltd 
• Summer '24: Engineering Project Management Intern @ Defence Construction Canada 
• Summer '25: Private Wealth Summer Analyst @ Raymond James

 

The courses I found valuable for both capstone and career interests are: 

• DATASCI 3000B: Intro to Machine Learning
• ELI 3100B: Project Management
• MSE 3360B: Finite Element Analysis

 

The most applicable course for my career interests and progression definitely has to be IE 4499 (capstone).  

 

Asha Sunner

Plans after graduation: I will be returning full-time to S&P Global as a Credit Rating Analyst, having received a return offer following my internship (below; read more about Asha's internship experience - TBA). I will be continuing to build my expertise in credit analysis and capital markets. 

• Summer ’24: Advisor Channel Sales Intern @ RBC Global Asset Management 
  
• Summer ’25: Credit Rating Analyst Intern @ S&P Global 

 

The courses I found particularly valuable for capstone and my career aspirations are:

• Risk Management (ELI 4300B)
• Managing the Innovation Process (ELI 3000A/B)
• Engineering Experimentation (MME 2285B)

 

These courses have provided me with insight into the design process and the path to ensuring the project is completed in a structured, efficient, and data-driven manner. In particular, they strengthened my ability to assess uncertainty, manage projects across multiple stages, and apply experimental methods to validate decisions. Together, these skills have been directly applicable to my capstone work and will continue to support my transition into a career in financial analysis, where structured problem-solving and risk assessment are critical.