Optional Communication Support for Project Presentations

Clear communication is a core professional skill for engineers. In this course, project presentations are not only an opportunity to demonstrate technical work, but also a chance to practice explaining system design, trade-offs, and implementation choices clearly and concisely.

To better support students in preparing for project presentations, the course includes optional communication-focused support, developed in collaboration with Fiona Coll, Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) and lead of ISTEP’s Graduate Communication Initiative.

These activities are designed to provide guidance and feedback in a low-pressure, supportive environment. Participation is optional and not graded.

In-Class Presentation Tips (10 Minutes)

At the beginning of March 13’s lecture, approximately 10 minutes will be reserved for Prof. Coll to share general, practical guidance on preparing a short technical presentation.

This segment will focus on high-level strategies such as:

• Structuring a concise technical presentation
• Communicating system design and technical decisions clearly
• Managing time effectively in a time-limited presentation format
• Common pitfalls in short project presentations

This session is intended to provide ideas you can immediately apply, rather than prescriptive rules.

• Recording
• Slides

Optional Practice & Feedback Session (Dry Run)

In addition to the in-class presentation tips, the course will offer a separate optional practice session, jointly organized with ECE1779: Introduction to Cloud Computing, for students who would like additional support before the project presentations.

During this session:

• Prof. Coll will share more detailed presentation strategies
• Teams may deliver a 6-minute dry run (or a portion of their presentation)
• Prof. Coll and the instructor will provide feedback and suggestions for improvement

This session is:

• Entirely optional
• Not graded
• Intended for students who would like extra practice or feedback, regardless of current confidence level

You are welcome to attend simply to observe and learn from others, or you may choose to participate in a dry run.

Scheduling and Participation

• The practice session will be held on March 19, 2026, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Room 106, Health Sciences Building (HS).
• Approximately 5 teams will have the opportunity to deliver a live 6-minute dry run during the session.
• If your team would like to do a live dry run, please complete this form . Dry-run spots will be confirmed in order of form submission.
• Students attending as observers do not need to register.
• There is no requirement to attend this optional session.

What to Expect

These activities are meant to support your preparation, not to evaluate your communication skills.

A good presentation — and the ability to express yourself clearly and confidently — requires practice. Short, low-stakes opportunities like these can help you organize your thoughts, get used to explaining your work out loud, and feel more prepared for a time-limited presentation.

There is no expectation of perfect English or a polished performance. What matters most is being able to explain your system and design choices clearly and thoughtfully, as you would in an engineering setting.

You are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities in whatever way feels most useful to you.