Choosing a final year project may feel a little daunting. There are a wide range of options, however, you may still not know what to do. You’re probably also considering whether the examiners will be impressed, whether you will have time to do everything you set out to do, etc. As a final year CS student working on my final year project, it definitely would have helped being told some of these earlier. This guide should make the process easier for you.
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Don’t be afraid to choose something unique - going for something niche or that has not really been done before is likely to spark some interest, particularly as examiners and employers may have quite a few relatively similar projects. It’s always good to let your uniqueness shine through!
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Avoid trying to implement too many features, systems or technologies - while it is good to use various systems or techniques in unison, trying to implement an excessive amount may very well risk you running out of time, or not being able to properly implement each one. For example, if you are trying to implement AI techniques, you may want to stick to 2 or 3 - as a computer science student, while you can learn to use AI techniques and methods on your own, learning how to properly implement several will be time consuming, so more than 3 or maybe 4 can prove to be quite draining.
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It is a good idea to choose a topic related to what you may wish to explore further - if you wish to go into data science, for example, doing a project with a substantial amount of data science techniques is a great way to demonstrate to employers your passion and commitment to the field you want to go into, as after all it is a substantial piece of work which demonstrates your skills in the field.
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Do plenty of research before hand to identify problems in a domain that can be solved with computer science techniques, or where current applications of computer science can still be improved - project advisors typically want something novel and they would like to see how a new idea can be applied to solve an existing problem. This requires a good amount of research, so it would be advisable to look at research repositories such as ACM and IEEE.
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You can absolutely do a project related to your own interests outside of computer science, whether it is related to your hobbies, sports you participate in, games you play, etc - this is a good way to keep you motivated as you will be able to do something that you already have a passion for.
