Department of Biosystems
Science and Engineering
D-BSSE Research Plan
D-BSSE Guidelines for the Research Plan
Writing a research plan should help you structure and plan your work and will also
help you gain valuable experience in writing grant proposals.
Detailed guidelines for the research plan can be found here:
https://www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/specialinterest/bsse/department/Misc%20PDFs/BSSEGuidelines%20Research%20Plan_2017.pdf
The Research Plan has to be submitted electronically to the coordinator 8 months
after your matriculation at ETH.
Please follow the general structure of the research plan, use Arial 12pt font and
single line spacing.
DO NOT change the template formatting.
DO NOT exceed a maximum length of 11 pages (including title page) – your plan
will not be accepted if longer.
D-BSSE Research Plan
Basic Information
Signature
PhD Student
First name, surname
Supervisor
First name, surname
PhD Thesis Title
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date of submission
1
1.
Summary (max ½ page)
The short summary identifies the area of your research, the main goals and the expected
contributions to your field of research. Provide a coherent summary also if you work on several
projects.
xxx
2.
Introduction (min ½ page, max 1 page)
Provide a brief introduction to the field and the issues to be addressed including the general
methods and expected outcomes of your research.
xxx
3.
State-of-the-Art (max 1 page)
Describe your research in terms of previous and related work. Explain the significance of your
research and identify potential challenges.
xxx
4.
Goals of the Thesis (min 1 page, max 2 pages)
This section contains a paragraph describing the main goals of the thesis and then provides the
following details: research questions to be addressed, methods to be used, expected contributions,
links to other projects and/or disciplines.
xxx
5.
Detailed Work Plan (min ½ page)
Present your work plan in the form of work packages, each defining the task and expected outcome
(in general, a work package should describe a minimum of 3 and maximum of 12 months of work).
Provide a risk assessment for each subpoint: if it doesn’t work (in time), which other parts of your
plan are affected, what is the backup?
WP 1:
xxx
WP 2:
xxx
Risk assessment: (for all points include planned time requirements and risk assessment)
6.
Progress to Date (min 1 page, max 2 pages)
With reference to the work plan, describe the progress made to date with details of any results,
including publications accepted or submitted. This section includes a time schedule.
xxx
2
Time schedule: (change fill color of table cells to show planned timing)
Workpackage
Year 1
(start: MM.YY)
Year 2
(start: MM.YY)
Year 3
(start: MM.YY)
Year 4
(start: MM.YY)
Publication 1 (writing and submission)
Writing Thesis
7.
References (max 1 page)
Present a list of papers referenced in the description of the state-of-the-art and use the indicated
style.
1. Young, R.A., Control of the embryonic stem cell state. Cell, 2011.
2. Takahashi, K. et al, Induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic and adult fibroblast
cultures by defined factors. Cell, 2006.
3