- Find a few like minded individuals amongst students
- Find a couple appreciative members amongst staff
- Find basic support - this means getting students/post docs with a fair build up of experience on board. Their help will be invaluabe later
- Brainstorm the project ideas (and have some fun here)
- Have a vote and pick one. Research it as thoroughly as possible and ask the relevant specialists at your university of its potential. We ran through a lot of great ideas due to being told in a few seconds, some weeks later, it was completely impossible :)
- Send the proposal to any company that could be at least 0.1% interested in the project and University Chancellor, Departments and anyone else you can think of (100 letters sent out is not as much as it sounds, and it worked for us)
- Hopefully, you'll have a reply or two from the relevant companies...
- If not, abuse contacts in your deparmtent and get their help. Experienced professors will know who to go to in your university to get funding
- Play up on the fact you are undergraduates. It will get you more help
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