Capstone Sponsorship
At the Integrated Innovation Institute, capstone sponsorships go beyond academic exercises. They are immersive, high-impact collaborations that can create real value for companies. Our graduate students bring fresh thinking, cross-functional expertise, and a structured innovation process to tackle business challenges head-on. Sponsors often tell us that their projects spark unexpected insights, uncover new opportunities, and accelerate internal momentum.
Our partners range from startups to Fortune 500 leaders, all seeking fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. Our students come from diverse backgrounds in design, business, and engineering. They are handpicked for their ability to collaborate, lead, and create. Together, they form teams that deliver thoughtful, actionable solutions.
If you’re looking to explore new ideas, solve problems, and engage with top talent in a meaningful way, this page offers a deeper look into how the capstone experience works, the impact it delivers, and why companies choose to return year after year.
2025 Capstone Sponsors + Presentations
The 2025 Final Capstone Presentations brought together industry sponsors, faculty, and students to showcase the outcomes of months of collaboration. Held in person at our Pittsburgh office, the event is a celebration of innovation, problem solving, and partnership. Sponsors traveled from across the country to see firsthand how their student teams approached real-world challenges and developed thoughtful solutions.
Throughout the process, students applied interdisciplinary skills to create a range of products, services, and prototypes. The final presentations highlighted the strength of industry-academic collaboration and the expertise of each team.
Sponsor Testimonials + Process
Every capstone project begins with a question and unfolds into an exploration of impact, creativity, and collaboration. Sponsors work closely with student teams to test complex challenges that lead to thoughtful solutions. These projects are launchpads for ideas, careers, and lasting partnerships. After sponsors meet their student team to kick off the project, the process moves through four phases of innovation, with each step adding a new chapter of momentum. By the end, each final presentation tells the full story of a challenge explored and a solution created.
Students analyze socioeconomic, environmental, and technological factors to identify market gaps and product opportunities.
Teams conduct research, analyze trends, and define a problem scope, including where a solution can bring value to primary stakeholders.
Teams develop multiple concepts and select one viable product/service solution.
Teams present detailed product proposals, functional designs, and marketing plans.
Capstone Sponsorship Success Stories
Leading companies like Honda, Johnson & Johnson, and Philips have partnered with us to advance product innovation, explore new markets, and recruit top talent. Learn more about how our corporate outreach has driven real business impact by exploring the capstone stories below.
Become a Capstone Sponsor
Let's work together.
Corporate partners are the lifeblood of the Integrated Innovation Institute and an amazing experience for our business partners. To learn more about becoming a partner, please email our Associate Director of Corporate Outreach and New Engagement, Jenny Hurst, jennyhur@andrew.cmu.edu or call (412) 268-4741.
EMAIL JENNY
Sponsor Spotlight
FAQs
How long does a capstone project last?
Projects typically run for 16 weeks, with a defined scope and regular check-ins with the sponsor. The project begins with an onboarding phase, followed by research, prototyping, iteration, and a final presentation and report.
What kind of problems or challenges are a good fit?
What industries do you work with and what size companies?
We work with organizations across a wide range of industries including but not limited to technology, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, financial services, transportation, and safety. Innovation happens everywhere, and we welcome partners tackling real-world challenges in any sector.
Our sponsors range from Fortune 500 companies to startups, regional businesses, and public institutions. Whether you’re a global enterprise or a growing team with a big idea, our collaboration is designed to create value for both your organization and our students.