Five Central Washington University computer science students were presented with a monumental task—create a vehicle charging station application (app) for real-world use. The student’s capstone project—the culmination of their CWU education—was sponsored and overseen by the Ford Motor Company and developed in just 10 weeks.
The team of students designed and built an app to assist electric vehicle owners in finding charging stations appropriate for their vehicle, using a programming language and development framework they had never encountered before, for a real client expecting real results. That client was Bob Rapp, senior partner at Envorso and mentor to CWU Computer Science students, who came away from the project impressed with the students’ work.
“Central is wonderful, the students are incredible, the faculty is great, and the administration is easy to work with,” Rapp said of the public-private partnership. “I love the ability the students have to think outside the box. They work really hard, they do great work, and frankly, I wish I was that smart when I was their age.”
The group was comprised of Kirsten Boyles, Lucas Keizur, Craig Turnbell, Richard DeYoung, and Joe Corona, all who are graduating Computer Science majors. While the group was advised by CWU Professor of Computer Science(link is external) Szilárd Vajda, all development and strategy decisions were left entirely up to the students.
Original source can be found here.
