Abstract The objective of this paper is to share guidelines and lessons learned for an open design project in an Introduction to Mechatronics course. The open design project promoted project management, design skills, and hands-on experience in our mechanical engineering students. Historically, the undergraduate curriculum in mechanical engineering is front-loaded with lecture-style teachings in which the students are passive learners and note-takers. The open design project prompted the students to explore their interests in mechanical engineering and to choose a project that challenged them to apply engineering concepts in a holistic manner. While the students were free to choose their topic, the projects were constrained to have an educational component. By doing so, they applied the newly acquired mechatronics skills and built a device to teach prior engineering knowledge. During the semester, deliverables guided the students through a design process to solve the challenge effectively. Deliverables included: a project proposal, written reports, design reviews, early prototyping demonstrations, component integration, and a multimedia final presentation. Throughout the semester, students provided their opinions and suggested improvements for each deliverable. The contents of this work detail the different deliverables and the tools the students were given to help gain a foundation in mechatronics, design skills, and project management typical of senior capstone design projects. The paper also presents lessons learned and proposed directions for future improvements. To provide some specific examples of the projects and the main deliverables, a website was developed with a sample of representative student work.