Project Teams

The Project Team Experience

Cornell Engineering Project Teams offer students a unique, multifaceted learning opportunity. Entirely led and run by undergraduates, project teams collaboratively solve complex problems while gaining real-world engineering experience. Project team participation complements world-class classroom and laboratory learning, providing students with opportunities to hone leadership and professional skills alongside teammates from across the college and university. Innovation and teamwork drive the success of this unparalleled program.

Adding depth and a multidisciplinary approach, project teams are comprised of students from diverse academic backgrounds including all engineering disciplines, business, and the arts. Each team is divided into several sub-teams, so beyond sharpening technical skills, students can gain experience and expertise in business, design, marketing, fundraising, education, operations, and logistics. Faculty advisors and a dedicated project team staff provide technical and administrative support to each team and the overall program. Participants can earn academic credit for their work on a project team, which is particularly unique to this program.

Benefits of Project Team Participation

For their dedication and hard work, project team members reap boundless rewards. Project team students:

• gain practical engineering knowledge and know-how;
• design and construct novel products and systems;
• experience the complete design and build cycle for a product, system, or service;
• learn how to work and problem-solve within a diverse team;
• earn academic course credit;
• build a professional network with future colleagues, alumni, and corporate sponsors;
• hone life and work skills such as time management, professionalism, and working with limitations;
• create life-long friendships and community with their teammates.

By the Numbers

Cornell Engineering currently supports 31 project teams. This is the largest program of its kind in the country with over 1,200 student participants from all 14 engineering majors and from across Cornell’s seven undergraduate colleges/schools. Membership in project teams closely aligns with the gender ratio of the undergraduate student body at Cornell, with 53% male and 47% female participation during the 2019–20 academic year. Our project teams receive over $1 million in funding annually from the university, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. In addition to the Experiential Learning Lab, the dedicated “home” for project teams in Upson Hall, teams have access to state-of-the-art labs, workshops, and other specialized work areas across campus and beyond.