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Finding the most efficient way to pack a ten-tonne truck, getting data from river-based water sensors, helping parents with young children improve their sleep patterns, analysing pet behaviours with AI, just four of the thirteen client-based projects undertaken by teams of Second Year Software Engineers and Computer Science students.

Each year students have the opportunity to work with a range of clients on real-life projects. The clients range from the very big, you don’t get much bigger than IBM ‘big blue’, through to the very small, SMEs like AccessibleUK with a two person team but a grand vision. For IBM, friend of the module John McNamara gave the ‘away teams’ the mission of adding Star Trek gamification to IBM Skills Build. AccessibleUK sought assistance with upgrading their existing solution listing accessible tourism destinations.

The teams, usually around 4 or 5 in number, are required to get under the skin of the proposed project through meetings with the client, and then through a process of two scheduled ‘sprints weeks’ work to achieve a successful outcome. During the sprint weeks the teams treat the project as a full-time job and are expected to put in a full working week with all other modules cleared from their timetables. Lessons from the first sprint week are feed forward into the second sprint, allowing for iterative development.

Many organisations involved in the module have done so for many years and use the process to talent spot for their placement roles. Raytheon, XLN and Elanco fall into this category with SHU providing a pipeline of talented developers. Other such as Elaros, who work in digital health, chose to offer summer internships (paid of course) which they open to students who had worked on their project.

Two big names welcomed back in 2025, were AutoDesk and Next. Both have longstanding relationships with the school and were very welcome additions to the module. We were also very pleased to work with two brand new partners in the UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) and Kerridge Logistics. The UKHSA project saw a team of students working on work-flow techniques and testing for their army of data scientists (GitHub actions for those in the know). For Kerridge Logistics, it was the algorithmic challenge of packing a truck.

For the nearly 200 students, working with the 13 external clients, this client-based project work has a track record of opening doors, boosting skills and providing that all important evidence for portfolios and CVs.

A hearty thank you to all the companies and organisations involved. Look forward to seeing you next year.

Now where did I park that truck.

Postscript: If you would like to see demonstrations of some of these projects and meet the student teams that created them, then please attend the Student Showcase on Wednesday 7 May between 1pm and 3pm in Cantor Building atrium. All welcome.