Not just student projects, applications with a purpose

Not just student projects, applications with a purpose

We take pride in connecting our students with industry and making sure they have the skills to carry them forward in their chosen careers. In computer science, software engineering student projects are proposed by real-world businesses and individuals. They give students invaluable experience of working with clients while creating a prototype system or application. The teams work independently but with support from mentors and academic staff. Here are a few examples.

Suzuki Practice Buddy

The client: Anna Sibley, founder of the Bristol Music School – https://www.bristolmusicschool.com/

The brief: To create a fun app for young piano students being taught using the Suzuki method. The goal is to keep them engaged and on track with their practice routine.

The product: The app guides students using three key daily tasks – listening, practice and review. When they complete tasks, they earn ‘coins’ that can be spent on cool enhancements to the app, making it more personal and providing positive feedback between lessons. As well as designing and developing the software, the team created original graphics to appeal to the young audience. It is available for Android devices from Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=spb.piano.app&gl=GB

The makers:

I most enjoyed the chance to work on a large coding project, which is something I hadn’t done previously. The process of development taught me a lot about various coding techniques as well as how I could improve my planning methods in the future. Attempting such a complex project and being successful showed me what was possible in software development and taught me a lot about that industry. Joseph Harrison, Computer Science student

This was my first time developing an app in a group and I learned a lot. It gave me a chance to apply techniques that are used to develop software in the real world. Aadith Pillai, Computer Science student

FlowVi

The client: Lloyds Register – Energy Research Services – https://www.lr.org/en/

The brief: Lloyds wanted a solution for their windiness dashboard. Up to this point, they had collected many gigabytes of data but it took a lot of manual effort to present it in a visually accessible form to interested parties around the world.

The product: The user clicks on a map and the corresponding wind data appears. It is possible to define time frames for the data and export reports.

The maker:

I believe that nowadays everyone needs a team of software engineers and that’s why we’re computer scientists. It was a challenging brief and there were obstacles to overcome but the excellent collaboration we had with the clients made it all worthwhile. Being part of SPE was a truly unique experience. Konstantina Psoma, Computer Science student

Voronoi AR

The client: Bristol University School of Mathematics

The brief: The newly refurbished Fry Building features a large 2D sculpture of a Voronoi diagram https://www.bristol.ac.uk/maths/fry-building/public-art-strategy/what-is-a-voronoi-diagram/. The school wanted to enhance the experience for visitors by offering an augmented virtual 3D version that could be overlaid on the real 2D sculpture.

The product: As well as allowing visitors to generate a 3D representation of the sculpture on their phones, the app includes further information about the building and Voronoi Tessellations. It is available for android on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=voronoi.augmentedimage&gl=GB

The maker:

Having to communicate with a non-developer client helped me learn how to explain ideas clearly and ask questions effectively. Working in a group also improved my leadership, time management and communication skills. The client gave us a lot of freedom to explore ideas that interested us. The computer science course is a good mix of interesting theoretical concepts and a grounded, practical approach. Paulo Mura, Computer Science student