Engineering capstone projects: student motivation in selection and impact of allocation procedures

Abstract

The engineering capstone project is a crucial bridge between academia and practice, enabling students to demonstrate graduate-level competencies, with the project topic central to students’ experiences. In the South African context, these projects are typically conducted individually and driven by faculty research interests. This study explored students’ motivation in topic selections using a qualitative survey of current final-year students together with a review of the impact of alternate allocation systems through a quantitative analysis of five years of historical project selections. Findings show that students’ choices are primarily driven by affective factors such as personal interest, confidence, excitement, and engagement. Prior academic performance showed only a weak correlation with capstone performance, raising caution to the validity of its use as a key criterion for allocation. Student satisfaction was deemed highest when they received one of their top-choice topics, while staff satisfaction was linked to balanced student ability across supervisors. Comparisons of allocation methods suggest that systematic approaches based on academic performance result in lower satisfaction for both students and staff compared to optimisation procedures. The study recommends offering a diverse range of topics incorporating meaningful connections for students and prioritising interest-based allocation over academic metrics.