How The Capstone Project Works
The Digital Health Capstone Project (DHCP) aims to provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in the field of digital health. Through their Capstone Project, students should work on real-world healthcare challenges, support the development of innovative digital health solutions, and gain practical experience in designing, implementing, and/or evaluating digital health interventions. Students are connected with mentors for guidance and support throughout the project, and to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Students are either healthcare clinicians (e.g., nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, sonographers etc.) with an interest in health informatics and the impact of technology on healthcare, or learners with healthcare employment experience combined with technical and/or informatics skills. Throughout the Digital Health Advanced Certificate program students have learned how to successfully manage and potentially lead a project. We encourage students to leverage this knowledge to select a feasible deliverable, that is part of a larger digital health project, that can be accomplished within a 10–12-week timeframe.
Most projects in healthcare contexts will span longer than the 12 weeks (45hrs) students have to complete this Capstone project. For this reason, we anticipate that students will only have time to complete one section of a full digital health project. Students will work with their industry mentors and their faculty supervisor to determine the specific deliverable/s that can be successfully accomplished within the timeframe allotted for the Capstone Project.
The information below outlines the stages of the Capstone Project that students will need to complete to meet the course requirements and attain their Advanced Certificate in Digital Health. More specific details related to the project and the deliverables will be determined closer to the start of the Capstone Project.
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-3): Complete Project Proposal including literature review
Assignments: Submit Capstone Project Proposal (5%), and complete Literature Review (15%)
Phase 2 (Weeks 4-10): Complete the pre-determined deliverable for the Capstone Project.
For example, students may plan, design, prototype, develop, test, implement or evaluate a digital health project at a healthcare site. Assignments: Submit Mid-Project Progress Report Week (10%)
Phase 3 (Weeks 11-12): Complete Capstone Project
Assignments: Submit Final Report (30%), Presentation (20%) and Reflective Essay (20%)
Expectations for mentors working with the students
The mentor is expected to commit time and resources to the project as necessary to ensure that students have a reasonable opportunity to succeed.
The mentor is required to provide guidance and support in the Capstone Project planning, design, and development.
This person should meet with the students at the start of the project and then as required. Meetings may be in person or online. The mentor is required to help students facilitate team meetings and ensure effective communication.
Mentors are required to review and provide feedback on the project proposal, progress report and the final report.
The mentor should encourage critical thinking and problem solving, as well as offer technical assistance and resources when needed.
Help students identify and address ethical considerations in digital health.
Expectations for students working with mentors
Students are expected to collaborate effectively within the team. Before starting the project the student is required to conduct a comprehensive literature review and take ownership of specific project tasks.
The student is required to stay organized and attend regular team meetings as well as meetings with the mentor.
The student must adhere to project deadlines and timelines, continuously seek feedback and iterate on the solution.
Types of projects
Suitable projects may be at any stage but typically result in a proof-of-concept or prototype. Projects from any healthcare industry context are welcome for consideration but should be considered part of a digital health initiative.
It may help to look at examples of previous projects.
Hints for suitable project proposals
The most attractive proposals:
- Clearly specify the problem.
- Have achievable goals while offering enough of a challenge to be rewarding (see “How do I know if my project is appropriately scoped?” in the FAQ).
- Provide students an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in their studies (see “What kind of skills should I expect the students to have?” in the FAQ).
How do I know if my project is suitable for this program?
Projects in the area of Digital Health and Health Informatics are welcome for consideration. Projects can involve research, proof-of-concept or product development.
Duration and timing
Students select their projects up to a few months before the term start in January, April or September, and complete their projects in about 12 weeks (45 hours).
Participation fee
There are no fees for the students or mentors participating in this program
No guarantees
There is no guarantee that a project’s outcomes will meet the sponsor’s expectations. Digital Health capstone projects are part of the learning process. Although students generally try hard to succeed, not all projects are completed successfully. If a sponsor is not satisfied with the deliverables, the project can be re-submitted for the next term where subsequent students can build upon previous results.
There is no guarantee that a particular project proposal will be selected. Faculty will encourage students to select those projects that appear to provide the best opportunities for learning. In addition, students select projects according to their interests. Projects that are not selected will be kept in the pool for future terms.
What kind of skills should I expect the students to have?
Please see the course descriptions for the digital health program: Digital Health, Advanced Certificate, Part-time (5165ADCERT) – BCIT
Confidentiality agreements and IP ownership
Sponsors should indicate in the project submission form if they require students to enter into a confidentiality agreement (NDA) or assign ownership of Intellectual Property (IP) resulting from their work on the project.
BCIT cannot require that students enter into these agreements. Students may choose not to participate in projects with these requirements.
Any such agreement(s) must allow students to present and publish a final report containing enough detail for the students’ work to be evaluated.
According to BCIT Policy 6601 [PDF] (“Intellectual Property”), students own IP produced by them in the course of their studies.
In cases where students retain ownership of their IP, the project’s documentation (schematics, source code, drawings, etc.) will be published in the BCIT Institutional Repository under a Creative Commons license. In the large majority of cases, no patent protection is sought.
Any confidentiality agreements and IP assignments should balance the interests of the sponsor and students. In most cases, they will be mutual non-disclosure and limited IP licensing agreements rather than those typically used for employees. Such agreements should be executed before the start of the project.
In all cases, the agreements must allow students to present and publish a final report containing enough detail for the students’ work to be evaluated, and a grade to be assigned.
We strongly discourage no-compete or similar clauses that would restrict students’ future employment options.
Information requirements and project submission
The submission form lists the information required for a project proposal.