Limited Time Matching Sponsorship

Penn State has granted Penn State Altoona’s Innovation Factory a matching funds program to help kick start the Industrial-Student-Faculty platform. The first $350,000 of donations made to the Innovation Factory will be matched by the University, allowing the program to contribute to a general fund—to seed special projects or purchase new equipment for the lab facility, for example—or an endowment to sustain the Innovation Factory.

The program will work as follows for an Industrial Sponsor:

  1. The Industrial Sponsor and Penn State Altoona’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) will agree on the donation amount for the senior project.
  2. DAR will create the necessary paperwork to obtain the matching funds from Penn State.
  3. Unless otherwise directed by the Industrial Sponsor, the matching funds will go into the general fund.
  4. The Innovation Factory faculty and staff will recommend the use of the general fund.

$3,500 Sponsorship

Industry sponsors are asked to make a gift of $3,500 to help cover the cost of materials and equipment to support the electro-mechanical engineering technology senior projects. Some projects may incur additional expenses depending on the sponsors’ needs and can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

$5,000 Sponsorship

This sponsorship opportunity provides $3,500 toward the student project and $1,500 toward a Student Showcase sponsorship. An exciting event that features Penn State Altoona students from various disciplines, including business, electro-mechanical engineering technology, rail transportation engineering, and security and risk analysis, the Student Showcase is an opportunity for the community to see firsthand the fine work and talent of Penn State Altoona students. This end-of-semester event brings students and community members together to build lasting relationships while building students’ communication and networking skills.

Sponsor Commitment

The sponsor is expected to participate throughout the project in research, design, sourcing, build, operating and testing. The most successful projects have one point of contact and considerable involvement from the sponsor.

Point of Contact Responsibility

  • Deliver a detailed description of the project
  • Present the project idea to students during the first week of class
  • Attend the first meeting with the selected engineering team and Penn State Altoona faculty adviser
  • Arranging a student visit to sponsor
  • Involvement in weekly meetings with the engineering team
  • Evaluate student input each week
  • Attend Capstone Project presentation at the end of the second semester

Deliverable to Sponsor

Each project has specific outcomes, however here is a list of possible results that will be given to the sponsor:

  • Previous design searches (Patent Research)
  • Preliminary design ideas
  • Engineering drawings (3-D models and manufacturing)
  • Physical manufactured product (Full size or scaled prototype)
  • Computer, PLC, Microcontroller programs, etc.
  • All presentations, posters, videos, etc.
  • Final design report

Summary

Each project has its own specific outcomes and deliverables with all projects differing slightly from other projects. Most projects have a team of two or three students that work for two 15 week semesters on the project. The objective is to complete all projects. However, depending on the nature of the project and hurdles along the way, some projects change the outcomes and deliverables as the project progresses throughout the year. Some long term projects may span multiple teams and semesters.