Key dates¶
The full schedule for the 2026–27 cycle, from the briefing lecture in Michaelmas to the exhibition and awards on the last Wednesday of Lent.
Check these against the departmental pages
Dates marked confirmed are fixed. The rest are projected from the University's official Term and Full Term dates using the same week-offsets as the published 2025–26 schedule — check them against the departmental Important dates page and Moodle once published.
Michaelmas term 2026¶
| When | What | Where | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 16 Nov 2026, 2–3pm (confirmed) | Briefing lecture. Design briefs are presented to students. | LT1 | I |
| Mon 30 Nov 2026, by midnight (confirmed) | Individual topic preferences. Every student records their topic preferences via the Moodle IB Group Project pages. | Moodle | I |
Lent term 2027 — getting started¶
| When | What | Where | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 21 Jan 2027, 11am | Project kick-off meeting. Group membership, clients and assigned briefs announced. No changes to group membership are considered after this meeting. | LT1 | II |
| Week 1 · 21–27 Jan 2027 | Client meeting #1. Clarify project goals and requirements. Meet as soon as possible. | Arranged by your team | II |
| Wed 27 Jan 2027 | Group risk report due. Within 24 hours of Meeting 1. Maximum 50 words, documenting the most serious technical and managerial risks. | Group project email | II |
| Week 2 · 28 Jan – 3 Feb 2027 | Client meeting #2. Feedback on the functional specification and project plan. The draft must reach the client at least 24 hours beforehand. | Arranged by your team | III |
Lent term 2027 — the build¶
| When | What | Where | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 4 · 11–16 Feb 2027 | Client meeting #3. Discuss progress. Progress Report 1 is due at least 24 hours beforehand. | Arranged by your team | IV |
| 11–17 Feb 2027 | Individual progress assessment. Due within 24 hours of Meeting 3. | Moodle | IV |
| Thu 18 Feb 2027 (to be confirmed) | Presentation Skills session. Technology Libraries — Presentation Skills for Computer Science Part IB students. Optional; arranged separately each year, so timing and venue are confirmed nearer the date. | West Hub | IV |
| Fri 19 Feb 2027, by 12 noon | Last chance: individual progress assessment. Absolute deadline if not already completed after Meeting 3. | Moodle | IV |
| Week 6 · 25 Feb – 3 Mar 2027 | Client meeting #4. Discuss progress. Progress Report 2 is due at least 24 hours beforehand. | Arranged by your team | IV |
Lent term 2027 — wrap-up¶
| When | What | Where | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 11 Mar 2027, 12 noon | Video presentation & final code deadline. Video (max 4 minutes) plus a full copy of the group code repository as a zip or tar file. No credit is given for features added after this. | Moodle | V |
| Mon 15 Mar 2027 | Videos posted online · voting opens. Videos available to CST staff, clients and Part IB students from Monday to Wednesday of Week 8. | Online | VI |
| Wed 17 Mar 2027, afternoon | Public exhibition, reception & awards. Public screening of the videos, interactive exhibition with demonstrations of all projects, and presentation of the awards. Exact timing and format to be confirmed. | The Street | VI |
| Wed 17 Mar 2027, by 5pm | Personal Report & Group Report deadline. Individual Personal Report (PDF) submitted via Moodle. This is also the latest time to send the final Group Report by email. | Moodle + email | VII |
Things that are easy to get wrong¶
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Client meetings are scheduled by your group
Client meetings can be online or in person. Each group is responsible for scheduling its meetings within the specified week. Clients — not the groups — may propose more frequent short meetings, but there must be at least the four meetings specified. The timing and format of the final exhibition are to be confirmed.
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Reserved slots, Tue & Thu
The lecture timetable reserves 11:00–13:00 on every Tuesday and Thursday of Lent term. These are to give explicit time for groups to meet in order to conduct their internal co-ordination.
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The 12-noon rule
Every formal document is delivered as a PDF to the client before 12 noon on the day preceding the meeting — not on the morning of it — so the client has time to read it properly.
Next: Deliverables — every deliverable, team action and individual task, with how each must be sent.
Previous: The Seven Phases