This new course is a variant of CDE3301 Ideas to Proof-of-Concept which is tailored for competition projects in the Innovation & Design Programme. It will be offered for the first time in AY2026/2027.

In this two-semester project course, students will learn how to design, fabricate, and test prototypes of complex engineering systems to meet the requirements of mission-driven competitions. Emphasising the systems engineering approach, integration of multidisciplinary elements, and iterative development, students will work in teams to achieve the goals in their respective competitions while managing real-world constraints such as performance, reliability, and resource limitations. The course blends creativity with technical rigour, guiding students through function analysis, concept development, system architecture, prototyping, and validation. Students will demonstrate their final engineering prototypes in a competitive mission scenario where innovation, execution, and teamwork are put to the test.

In this course, students will learn the following in the context of their competition projects:

• Create a system architecture to analyse the functional and physical elements of a complex engineering system or solution as well as their interactions with each other.
• Derive system, subsystem, and component-level specifications and performance metrics from competition mission and rules.
• Generate and evaluate concept designs in a systematic manner using appropriate methodologies.
• Perform detail design of subsystems and components to meet required specifications.
• Fabricate and test performance of component, subsystem, and system-level prototypes.
• Document and present a complex engineering system or solution in a clear and coherent manner through various written, oral, and visual media.

Workload: 12 units across two consecutive semesters

Note: This course is available only for students who are working on selected competition projects offered by the Innovation & Design Programme:

• Bumblebee (RoboSub, Maritime RobotX Challenge)
• Calibur Robotics (RoboMaster)
• CanSat Competition
• NUS Formula SAE
• Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition
• University Rover Challenge