Innovation in Product Development
Module code: ME5E3 · Semester: Semester 1 & Semester 2
Themes: Theme 4: Innovation in Product Design
Resources
How it's assessed
No end-of-semester exam. It's assessed through project work.
Teams work to an open-ended brief from an industry sponsor, using a user-centred design process to develop and build a high-quality prototype for a real-world problem.
| Assessment | Weight |
|---|---|
| Individual and group elements set out in the module handbook | 100% |
- Reassessment is an individual project over the summer.
Summarised from the TCD module descriptor, checked 2026-11-09. Details can change from year to year, so check this year's descriptor and Blackboard.
From students who've done it
Questions by Year
Topics
- Team formation and management LO1, LO7
- User-centred design: ideation, personas, points of view, user testing LO2
- Embedded microcontrollers for consumer products LO2
- Human factors LO2
- Prototyping: critical experience, dark horse, rapid prototyping, DFM LO2, LO6
- Start-ups, entrepreneurship and intellectual property LO3–4
Learning outcomes
- Work in multidisciplinary teams on an ambitious project
- Find user needs and develop concepts to meet them
- Analyse market and societal benefits
- Search patents and analyse prior IP
- Work professionally with industry engineers
- Pitch concepts with prototypes and media
- Manage time and budget