Making connections between final year students and potential project supervisors

A web-based final year project management system, ProMS, has been created and deployed to help coordinate undergraduate final year projects including automating practical tasks such as the submission of documents. ProMS helps introduce students to potential supervisors, through both student access to staff information, and staff access to draft copies of students’ project proposals. Many students who used the system found that it helped them become aware of potential supervisors whom they had never met, and a sizeable proportion of these students listed staff they were previously unaware of as preferred supervisors. The system helps greatly in expanding students’ knowledge of potential project supervisors. Following the deadline for student project proposals, ProMS made it possible to generate a draft allocation of students to supervisors in only a few hours.