This year’s capstone course will run May-June, 2024 (~8 weeks).
The soft deadline for UBC Capstone proposals is Nov 1st. And the hard deadline is Nov 30th. Proposals sent in by Nov 1st will receive feedback (that will hopefully increase their chances of being selected).
| Event | Deadline/Period |
|---|---|
| Call for Capstone proposals opens | September 1, 2023 |
| Suggested initial submission of proposal | November 1, 2023 |
| Proposal deadline | November 30, 2023 |
| Partners submit video presentations | December 18th- January 8th, 2024 |
| Capstone fair | Feb 9th, 2024 |
| Students rate the projects | Feb 13th, 2024 |
| Students are assigned to projects | March 15th , 2024 |
| Partners demonstrate readiness of data and sign legal docs | April 10th, 2024 |
| Kickoff meetings and partner Info Session | April, 2024 |
| Project | Apr 29th - June 26th , 2024 |
| Kickoff/Coding Challenge | Apr 29th - May 1st , 2024 |
| Year-End Celebration | June 26th, 2024 |
Proposal revision process
Members of an organization interested in participating as a capstone partner should submit a project proposal.
Proposals received before November 1st will be reviewed by the MDS-CL teams and feedback/suggestions for revisions will be provided to the partner, who can then revise their proposal before submitting a proposal video to students. This revision process aims to maximize the chance of a proposal being selected by students. Proposals received after November 1st will not be provided with feedback.
Partners submit video presentations
Capstone partners should submit video presentations (approx. 5 minutes) to provide information additional to the proposals. We are not expecting production-quality videos and we do not want you to spend too much time on this. The main purpose here is to help our students better understand your project(s) before attending the capstone fair so that they are ready to ask you meaningful questions.
Capstone fair
Capstone partners must attend the Capstone Fair to meet with the students and answer any questions they may have. The Capstone Fair takes place at the UBC Point Grey campus in Vancouver. For remote capstone partners, we will organize a virtual fair. Detailed information will be emailed to each capstone partner.
Students rate the projects
After the capstone fair, the students assign a final rating to the projects.
Partners are notified of our decisions
Based on student interest, the MDS-CL leadership team decides which projects will move forward. Student groups are assigned to the projects at the same time.
Partners demonstrate readiness of data and sign legal docs
Before a project may begin, the partner must provide MDS-CL with a demonstration or written (email) declaration that the data has already been collected and prepared and exists in its entirety (in the form specified in the proposal) and is ready to be shared with the students. Partners should feel free to ask us for our standard agreement and sign the relevant legal documents before moving forward.
Kickoff meetings
The students will arrange a date and time with their capstone partner, teaching fellow mentor, and career advisor to have an initial meeting to discuss the project. It is common that students sign any required legal documents at this meeting, which means the students should be sent the documents for review at least 7 days in advance.
Project
The project itself. At the end, partners can expect the students to present at the partner organizations. Partners will also be invited to an end-of-program celebration at UBC.
Kick-Off/Coding Challenge
The Capstone project typically starts with a multi-day kick-off and coding challenge at the UBC main Point Grey campus. Day 1 of the kick-off focuses on professional skills, Day 2 focuses on technical skills and hosts a coding challenge, and Day 3 is when students dive into their project data.
Capstone partners are strongly encouraged to attend the afternoon of the 3rd day of the kick-off. In the past, students have found this very valuable, as they were able to ask questions about their dataset and clarify other data science issues with the partner.