Insights about the capstone experience from 2021 Berkeley MEng Capstone Awardees

On Thursday, May 6, 2021, the Fung Institute hosted its 10th annual UC Berkeley Master of Engineering (MEng) Capstone Showcase, celebrating and exhibiting a year’s worth of collaboration, ingenuity, and learning across the globe. Each year we celebrate remarkable achievements of our graduates, you can find more about the 2021 capstone awards. Below, we’ve asked the winners and nominees to reflect on their Berkeley MEng capstone experience.

What advice would you give to improve collaboration?

“Check-in frequently, and make sure to spend time socializing with each other! It’s hard to be motivated to work in groups remotely, however, once you develop a real bond with your teammates, you will feel a different level of motivation and ease in working together.” — Jasper “Take the time to get to know your capstone teammates! It is so important to develop trust, and to learn one another’s leadership and learning styles. Also, your teammates are not only good connections to have, but can even become great friends.” — Sydney “I would recommend starting early with establishing how you want to communicate with each other. This ended up being the key for our team to achieve higher performance.” — Anna “I think communication with your team and advisor is important. Make sure everyone is on the same page because in a remote setting, sometimes things go a little bit untracked. Also, be sure to assess the team’s health regularly to make sure everyone’s involved.” — Tsang-Yung “Clear communication is one of the most important things to keep in mind when working on remote teams, as miscommunications tend to happen more often when working remotely. Always make sure to understand what is expected from each team member and communicate with your teammates if anything is unclear.” — James “Communication is vital for any team, especially in a remote environment! Having an open dialogue with your team can be the difference between a successful and a failed project. Never be afraid to ask a question or speak up to clarify something you don’t understand. Additionally, communicating your standing as a team member is equally vital to team health. If you find yourself on a remote team, I’d encourage you to take time to ask your teammate how they’re doing! Conversations about nothing can help with stress and also reestablish some ‘normalcy’ in remote meetings.” — Diego

“There‘s a high chance you will be working with people whom you’ve never met before. I’d suggest getting to know each other as much as possible because it’ll help to improve the team dynamic and build trust with your teammates. I found sending memes or sending funny videos to each other was a good way to strike up a conversation and gradually find common interests. Communication can be greatly challenged when working remotely, especially for a new team. Don’t lose patience and constantly look for a better way to communicate that works for your team.” — Henry Check out more projects and highlights from the MEng Capstone Showcase: Innovating Across the Globe.

Anna Wolfe [ME], Mission Award ([Blue Goji] Motion-Tracked VR Experiences to Improve Balance and Posture Rehabilitation)

Diego Espinoza [BioE], Mission Award (MEDiRoller: Revolutionizing Low-cost Vaccine and Drug Delivery in Low-Resource Communities)

Henry Fong [ME], MEng Showcase Audience Choice Award (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle with Wireless, LED-based Optical Communication System for Ocean Exploration)

James Liao [ME], MEng Showcase Audience Choice Award (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle with Wireless, LED-based Optical Communication System for Ocean Exploration)

Jasper Lee [CEE], MEng Showcase Audience Choice Award (SafeTport — The Creation of a Crowdsourcing Application for Transportation Safety)

Sydney Holgado [CEE], Award for Intellectual Contribution Leadership (Post Road] GridMod: Decarbonizing the Energy Sector through Cost-Effective Electric Grid Modernization)

Tsang-Yung Wu [EECS], MEng Showcase Audience Choice Award (Affordable Smart Bandage to Monitor Chronic Wounds)

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Unlocking collaboration within the MEng capstone experience was originally published in Berkeley Master of Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.