Direct Purchasing (Recommended Method)

NOTE: This process is for MDP industry-sponsored teams only. Research teams or student organizations should follow their specific team’s process for purchasing items.

Purchase requests for project materials, supplies, or services must be made through MDP Direct Purchasing whenever possible. Exceptions to this policy require pre-approval from the MDP Project Manager. 

To ensure prompt receipt of team materials, Direct Purchase requests should be submitted as soon as possible to mdp-purchasing@umich.edu. Requests will be processed within 3 business days from receipt of your email, provided no additional approvals or information is needed.

 Be sure to take into consideration vendor shipping/delivery schedules, as well as time for MDP to check-in the order and arrange a pick-up time with the team. 

Please submit requests in the following format: 

• Email subject line: include your team’s name and total purchase amount of your request.
• Copy your team email and your faculty mentor on all requests.
• Email text should contain the following information: 
  • website link for the item(s)
  • item number, part number, item description, item size(s), quantity, etc. 
  • for multiple items, please attach a copy of an excel spreadsheet. Please follow the Purchasing Spreadsheet template.   
• Teams are expected to use University approved vendors whenever possible. To search the UM preferred vendors list, visit the Procurement Services page.
• Consolidate items and order from one vendor as much as possible. It is important to take into consideration the potential shipping costs when ordering from multiple vendors, especially when ordering small items. 
• No purchases can be made from Alibaba, eBay, or Walmart.
• Teams are also discouraged from using any foreign vendor or ones who are not vetted by the University. If you are not sure, time should be allowed at the forefront of your request so MDP Purchasing has time to confirm with Procurement Services if purchases can be made from a particular vendor. 
• Teams are discouraged from making any out-of-pocket purchases. Purchases of this type require pre-approval from the MDP Project Manager prior to making the purchase. 

NOTE: Any requests for items over $100 will require the pre-approval of the MDP Program Manager and/or Faculty Mentor. Any requests over for items or total orders of more than $300 will also require an explanation for its purpose/use and approval from your team’s Faculty Mentor prior to the request being processed.

*Be sure to allow extra time for these requests to go through the approval process.

Student Reimbursements (Pre-authorization required)

NOTE: This process is for MDP industry sponsored teams only. Research teams or student organizations should follow their specific team’s process for purchasing items.

In special cases, students may incur out-of-pocket expenses for project materials, supplies or services. Students have a $100 limit on out-of-pocket purchases. We cannot guarantee reimbursement over that amount or any that do not have MDP pre-approval.

• You should not be making any purchases without the prior approval of your Faculty Mentor and  the MDP Purchasing Department. 
• Reimbursements must be submitted within 14 days of the purchase date and no later than 5 days after the end of the term. 
• Requests for reimbursements must be fully documented. Students must submit a reimbursement request by completing the Student Reimbursement Forms found on the MDP website. BOTH forms must be completely filled out. (2 pages total)
• Purchases or expenses totaling more than $100 or that are not obviously engineering parts/services will require email approval from your instructor. 
• Do your best to minimize the number of times you make out-of-pocket purchases.
• In the rare event that you do have multiple out of pocket purchases, please group your receipts/invoices as one reimbursement request. 

Reimbursement Request Forms

Steps for submitting a request:

• Complete the Student Reimbursement forms completely.
• A current mailing address is required.
• “SAVE AS” the file in the following format- “Reimbursement Request-(your first and last name)”
• Email the file along with a copy (.pdf or .jpg) of your itemized receipt and proof of payment to: mdp-purchasing@umich.edu

Allow 3 weeks for processing. NOTE: If a student has a financial hold on their student account, their reimbursement will be held until the hold has been lifted.

Travel Restrictions and Guidelines

MDP will cover standard travel expenses in accordance with University policies. General expenses (e.g., lodging, car rental, train/plane ticket(s), registration fees) can be covered by MDP.

In order for any travel costs to be covered by your MDP budget, you must contact MDP to make the arrangements for you in advance.

Typically, travel to destinations that are 10 hours or less from campus will be driven by a qualified student driver or staff in a University fleet vehicle. Please visit the “Car Rentals” tab for guidelines.

Trips that require 10 or more hours of driving may require the use of a commercial train or plane. All flight, hotel and any other necessary arrangement will be made at the discretion of MDP.

To start the travel arrangement process, please contact engin-mdp@umich.edu at least three weeks prior to the desired travel date with following information:

• In the subject line of your email: “(Team Name), student travel request”
• Reason for the trip (pre-approval from the MDP Project Manager, Project Sponsor and/or your Faculty Mentor is required)
• Full name as it appears on each traveler’s official ID
• Gender of all travelers
• Date of Birth of all travelers
• General times that travelers need to arrive and leave from the travel location

Flights/Train Tickets:

MDP will only cover economy flights out of Detroit Metro or Amtrak coach tickets out of the Ann Arbor station and your travel location. MDP will cover ticket fees and taxes only. MDP will not cover charges for extras such as in-flight food/drinks, WiFi, movies, etc.

Hotels/Lodging

Travel accommodation selections are based on price and the most convenient location, (i.e. closest to the destination or airport). Students of the same gender will be paired in double rooms. MDP will cover hotel fees and taxes only. MDP will not cover charges for WiFi, movies, room service, etc. Most hotels require that guests put a credit card on file when they check in for unanticipated expenses (room service, room damage, movie rentals, etc.). As long as you do not incur any additional expenses, your credit card will not be charged. If you are mistakenly charged for the room rental, please keep your receipt and contact MDP immediately.

Meals

Meal allowances are based on GSA Per Diem guidelines. This amount is subject to change, and will be calculated on a case by case basis depending on destination. These funds are only issued for each full day of travel, and for any half day of travel if an overnight stay is involved.

MDP will cover the cost of food while on university-related travel if the trip includes an overnight stay. Students will be issued a Stored Value Card to cover the costs of meals for the duration of their travel. Cards are issued to cover the cost of meals only, alcoholic beverages are not included.

Stored Value Cards will be arranged in conjunction to all other travel plans. Students will be notified when their card is ready. All cards must be picked up in person by the student it is issued to.

Additional Travel Information

Occasionally, students may incur expenses outside the standard travel guidelines.
Please visit the Reimbursement tab for more information.

MDP provides workshops to help students build skills. Recordings of previous trainings are available:

– Machine Learning Fundamentals: Recording 02.13.19

– Git Fundamentals: Recording 02.06.19

– Team Leader Recipe for Success: Link

– How to Feature your MDP Experience on your Resume and LinkedIn: Link, and presentation: Presentation

MDP’s Networking Groups on Slack!

What are networking groups?
They are channels in the OfficialMDP slack to be a space for students between MDP teams to connect and network with their others in their major or similar teams.

What majors are there?
Electrical and Computer Engineering (#ece_network)
Computer Science and Engineering (#cse_network)
Mechanical Engineering (#meche_network)
Aerospace Engineering (#aero_network)
Data Science (#datasci_network)
Multidisciplinary, any major welcome! (#multi_network)

How do I use these groups?
A virtual way across MDP teams to connect to offer or obtain help on your projects.
A place to post resources to help with classes, such as study groups organized by student organizations.
A way to find other students in your classes to create your own study groups and professional networks.
A place to get advice from more senior students on how to succeed in a class or general information about classes and study strategies.
A place to post relevant events to the major, such as talks or seminars.

How do I join?
Add yourself to the desired channel based on your major or what you are interested in. There is no limit on how many you can join!
Go to the top left of the Slack and under Channels select “Add channels” and then “Browse channels”
Select the desired channel and then “Join”
Now you should have the channel appear under your list of channels on the left hand side.
Note: This chat is reserved for MDP students only and MDP reserves the right to remove people. The CoE Honor Code applies and this line is moderated.

MDP has extremely limited summer funding for summer 2023 and will not be opening a general application this year. The information below is for reference purposes only.

Overview

Students involved in the Multidisciplinary Design Program are invited to individually submit requests for summer funding to continue MDP-related work. Funding is not guaranteed. We expect extremely limited funding availability, and some funding sources have limitations based on financial needs and other factors. 

HOW ARE STUDENTS SELECTED?

Each year, MDP attempts to provide funding to as many students as possible. The total amount of funding available varies year-to-year.

Priority Consideration criteria include the following:

• Undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need (based on FAFSA)
• Students who do not have a summer internship
• Currently enrolled on a Faculty Research Team
• Currently enrolled on a Corporate/Industry-Sponsored Project team
• Your work over the summer would have a significant positive impact on your team
• Declared in the MDP Minor (undergraduates only)

STIPEND AMOUNT

If you are selected to receive an MDP Summer Stipend, the amount awarded will be based on a number of factors:

• Amount of time you have available to dedicate to your project
• Significance of the contributions/work you will deliver for your team
• MDP’s availability of funds. This varies each year, and we try to fund as many students as possible.

Stipends are calculated at a fixed rate:

Corporate Teams:

• • • Undergraduate Students — $15/hour
    • Graduate Students — $17/hour

Faculty Research Teams:

The amount of your stipend (and associated number of hours expected) may differ from the amount you request in the online form. While we try to fully fund all eligible requests, we may need to make adjustments in order to award a reasonable amount of funding to as many students as possible. Maximum amount possible for an individual student: 400 hours

HOW ARE THE STIPENDS DISTRIBUTED?

If selected, you will receive notification of your stipend award in March, and you will be asked to confirm before the funds are deposited into your student account the first week in May. You may decline an awarded stipend if you receive an internship job offer, your summer plans change, etc. Please give us early notice if you will be declining an award, so we may offer the stipend to another student on the waitlist.

If you owe any funds to the University of Michigan (have a negative balance in your Student Account), the stipend award will be utilized as payment towards those debts, which is a University policy. If the funds create an “overage” in your account, you may request a check from Financial Aid to use the money for rent/housing, groceries, etc. over the summer. Before your award is distributed, MDP will work with the CoE Scholarship Office to ensure you are not penalized if you receive financial aid.

The stipend is not subject to income tax for U.S. Citizens. International/non-US Citizen students will be taxed at a rate of 14%. (This is a federal Internal Revenue Service requirement, not an MDP rule)

If you have questions, please contact engin-mdp@umich.edu

IF AWARDED

If you receive an MDP Summer Stipend, you are required to provide a report to both MDP and your faculty mentor that details the accomplishments you completed over the summer and the overall progress you made in your summer work. More details will be provided upon notification of the funding decision.

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Industry-Sponsored and Faculty Research Team Student Applicants

• • Discuss summer project development/objectives/timeline with your Faculty Mentor/Advisor

• • • What would you achieve if you worked on the project over the summer?
    • How would it benefit the team?
    • Is your work dependent on the work/delivery of other students?
    • Will you make decisions (design or functionality decisions, spending decisions, etc) autonomously or will those decisions require email collaboration with your peers/faculty mentor?
    • What is the process for obtaining required design decision approval from your faculty or team? (be sure to discuss)
    • What purchases are required for your summer work? (These will come out of your team’s general budget and will not impact summer funding award decision)

Create a plan for your summer design work, including number of hours anticipated per week

• • Outline your plan for the summer, and note specific days/weeks you will not be working on your project due to personal time, vacation/travel time, etc.
  • Be realistic about your schedule: how many hours could you dedicate each week to time on your project? Consider time spent building/designing/communicating, etc. MDP will not fund more than 30 hours per week.
  • Set goals for each week and periodic development deadlines for yourself to stay on track.
  • Create a documentation plan: how will you document your work and effort for the team?
  • Create a communication plan: how will you communicate with members of your team, faculty or sponsor? Will communication be required over the summer? Who is available to support you on your work if you experience difficulty?