Rethinking capstone and final year projects in undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses
Capstone projects and final year projects are a topic of interest in many countries. For many students, it provides a transformative experience, yet for others the experience is less inspiring and sometimes quite negative. The traditional project has come under pressure for reform as student participation in higher education has increased, there has been a growth in professional disciplines, and staff-student ratios have deteriorated.

Professor Mick Healey will be visiting Flinders University on 8 July to give an interactive presentation exploring ways in which we can rethink capstone and final year projects, while at the same time retaining a significant element of research and inquiry and delivering key graduate attributes. His argument is that a more flexible approach is needed in the form, function and assessment of capstone and final year projects to meet the needs of all students. These may include group, work-oriented and community-based projects. There can also be novel ways of disseminating the findings – via exhibitions, research conferences and other forms of public engagement. These changes have implications for supervising and assessing the projects. The argument will be illustrated with examples of undergraduate and taught postgraduate capstone and final year projects from a wide range of disciplines and countries.

About the presenter
Mick Healey is an HE Consultant and Researcher and Emeritus Professor at the University of Gloucestershire, UK. Until 2010 he was Director of the Centre for Active Learning, a nationally funded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. He is currently The Humboldt Distinguished Scholar in Research-Based Learning at McMaster University, Canada and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Queensland. From 2014 to 2017 he was visiting professor at UCL, helping them embed the connected curriculum across the institution. He was one of the first people in the UK to be awarded a National Teaching Fellowship and to be made a Principal Fellow of the HE Academy. In 2015 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Since 1995 he has given over 500 educational presentations in over 25 different countries. Mick has written and edited around 200 papers, chapters, books and guides on various aspects of teaching and learning in HE, including Developing and Enhancing Undergraduate Final Year Projects and Dissertations (Healey, Lannin, Stibbe, & Derounian, 2013). He has over 8,500 citations. He was co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (2010-2013) and is currently Inaugural Senior Editor. He has been the international advisor on two ALTC capstone projects. Mick is a frequent visitor to Australia and has presented at around two-thirds of Australian universities.

Further information can be found on Mick’s website.

Visit iEnrol to register for the seminar.

Reference
Healey, M., Lannin, L., Stibbe, A., & Derounian, J. (2013). Developing and enhancing undergraduate final year projects and dissertations. York, UK: HE Academy.