Degree project instructions for IEI, version 2.2
Björn Oskarsson, 2012-04-12
Instructions for Degree projects (LiTH) performed at IEI The Department of Management and Engineering
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 1
What is a degree project? ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Observation............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Opposition ............................................................................................................................................................... 2
Reflection ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Requirements to be awarded a pass grade on the degree project course ..................................................... 2
What are the requirements for doing your degree project at IEI? .................................................................... 3
Before you begin your degree project work ........................................................................................................... 3
How to conduct your degree project work ............................................................................................................. 5
Degree Projects which are carried out abroad .................................................................................................. 6
Finishing your Degree Project ................................................................................................................................... 6
Electronic publishing .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Confidential degree projects ................................................................................................................................. 7
Introduction
The purpose of these directives is to provide a quick overview of what doing degree project work
at IEI involves; both with regards to formal requirements and to the actual process of the degree
project. What is meant by degree project work in these instructions is the independent work that is
carried out at the end of one of the educational programmes at LiTH. We use the term degree
project work throughout, irrespective of whether it involves examination work at master’s or at
bachelor level. Our aim is to briefly provide the information about what you should know about
doing this work at IEI. The specific routines differ somewhat however, depending on whether the
work is done within the fields of management or of technology 1. Therefore in addition to these
general IEI directives, there is also specific information which you will find on IEI’s degree project
homepage at www.iei.liu.se/student. You will also find a number of useful links and hints there.
What is a degree project?
A degree project is a course which represents a deeper specialisation within the field in which
you have chosen to specialise. The purpose of the degree project as well as the university’s
requirements can be found in LiTH’s study guide. In cases when the degree project is carried out
with an external employer, it is important to remember that you must satisfy both their demands
as well as the university’s requirements for the project work. Each degree project is allotted a
supervisor from IEI who provides support and guidance throughout the entire process, as well as
an examiner, who is responsible for the final assessment of the degree project.
In addition to your own project with the report and presentation which go with it, the course
involves three other elements: observation, opposition and reflection. In order for a pass grade for
any of these elements to be entered into Ladok, you must be registered on the course
examination work (see “Requirements for passing the course Examination work” below).
1
Which subject areas that belong to Management and Technology respectively, can be found on IEI’s degree project
homepage.
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Degree project instructions for IEI, version 2.2
Björn Oskarsson, 2012-04-12
Observation
Observation means attending the presentation of a degree project at the same (or higher)
academic level as your own. It is beneficial to do the observation before starting your own work
and before making an opposition. To take part in an observation, you must fulfil certain
requirements. 2 Note that the observations must have been completed before you can make either
your own presentation or your required opposition of another degree project.
Opposition
You must make an opposition of a degree project which is at the same academic level as your
own. The way in which this is done depends on the way that degree projects are organised in the
department in which the actual work is done. It is the supervisor or the examiner of the project
that you oppose who decides whether or not the opposition has been satisfactorily performed.
Reflection
You must write a reflection document in which you relate the degree project to the studies. In
brief, according to the study guide, the requirements are that you should reflect upon:
− How your degree project relates to the aims of your programme of education
− Your own work during the project (planning, carrying out the work, writing the report, and
cooperation with your project partner)
− Subject content, knowledge and skills that have been most useful for carrying out the work
• that you have acquired during the course of your studies
• that you have complemented through working on your degree project
The reflection document should be of 2-4 papers (A4, normal typing) and be written individually.
Requirements to be awarded a pass grade on the degree project course
The following requirements are to be met in order to pass the degree project course in its entirety:
− Registration for the course Degree Project in Ladok (different course codes depending on the
programme, subject area etc); registration for the term in which the work is to be presented.
− A pass for both the report and the oral presentation of your own project work.
− The report sent to the Department as a PDF file.
− A passing grade for the reflection document.
− A successfully completed opposition of another degree project.
− Observation (attendance) on at least three 3 other presentations. (These should be done before
your own presentation and opposition). The observations are registered under a special code
in Ladok (e.g. TEXCIV for master of engineering students). 4
When all the elements of the course have been successfully completed, IEI will report into Ladok
that you have passed the course.
2
See the study guide for information about the requirements of the different fields of education.
Three observations are required for a 30hp degree project. See the study guide for information about other degree
project courses.
4
Normally, you should be automatically registered under this code, but you are advised to check in the Student portal.
3
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Björn Oskarsson, 2012-04-12
What are the requirements for doing your degree project at IEI?
LiTH’s general requirements are the following:
− To begin the degree project, you must have taken a certain number of credits on your
programme. For example, on the master of engineering programme, 240 hp are required. 5
−
To begin the degree project, you must have cleared the prerequisites
6
Note that these requirements also apply to starting an opposition of another degree project.
In addition:
− Students working on a degree project must have read a majority of those courses which are
relevant for the actual project. In addition to knowledge of the subject, students must also
have enough knowledge of how to conduct a methodological investigation. These
requirements are specified by the respective departments/subject areas at IEI.
If the degree project falls between the areas of special competences of two departments (e.g.
“organisation of logistics projects” which involves the competences of both PIE and Logistics
Management), the students should together have knowledge that covers courses from both fields.
In such circumstances, we make a judgement from case to case.
Before you begin your degree project work
Most degree projects are carried out by two students working together. Positive experience of this
includes the fact that it is much easier to achieve a standard of work that is sufficiently high if
people can generate ideas together, critically review each other’s opinions etc. If you cannot find a
suitable person to work with, we are usually able to help, under the condition that you have
applied to do a degree project within a certain field.
What happens before you can begin your degree project work is illustrated and described in
words below.
5
6
See the study guide for information about the other study programmes.
See the study guide for information about prerequisites and requirements for different programmes.
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When you have decided that you would like to do your project at IEI we need you to inform us.
This is done by you filling in an application form in our administrative system WExUpp (see IEI’s
homepage) where you state among other things, the subject area in which you would like to work.
− For a degree project within a technical field, it is enough to do this when you have a concrete
project proposal that you have discussed with someone from the department.
− For a degree project within the field of management, we would like to have your application as
soon as you have decided the subject area in which you would like to work. The application is
completed later with information about the concrete project proposal etc.
Your application and project proposal is handled by the chosen department which then decides
whether the work proposed is suitable as a degree project in that department and if it seems to be
of a suitable size. In other words, we must accept the project before you can start working on it.
When the project proposal has been approved, you must hand in the form called “Master thesis
application” (which you can access through the link on IEI’s homepage). Before you can be
registered in LADOK for the degree project, this form must be signed by the study counselor and
the department. The study counselor checks that you fulfil the general prerequisites needed to
perform a master thesis. At the department, either the director of studies or the examiner, then
checks that the project proposal is accepted, and that you have sufficient prerequisites to perform
this specific task.
When you have decided on a specific piece of work and we have approved it, the supervisor and
examiner will be appointed. Who these individuals are depends primarily on the work load of the
different supervisors and on their specific competence. We also do our best to fulfil any particular
requests that you may have. As soon as you have been given a supervisor, contact him or her so
that you can make a work plan.
We recommend that you begin your observation sessions (attend the presentation degree
projects) before you start your own work, as these observations help you to get a good grounding
both in your own project work and in how to make an opposition. The study guide has information
about when you are allowed to begin your observation on different study programmes.
Practical details, such as questions about help with accommodation, the possibility of economic
compensation for your work etc. should be discussed with your employer. IEI should not be
involved in this.
If your degree project is to be done abroad, don’t forget to check insurance and visa requirements
etc. in good time, for example on LiU’s homepage for studies abroad, www.student.liu.se/ut?|=sv.
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How to conduct your degree project work
The following section describes the work process for your degree project in general terms. 7 This is
not an exact model. You plan your own specific project work in consultation with your supervisor,
examiner and (in some cases) opponents.
4 PRESEN-
START
TATION
1
1-2w
2
3
5-7w
5
2w
2w
20w
1
After roughly a weeks’ work, you send a planning report to your supervisor. At this stage, you
should have a better insight into the problem, and therefore the report should include a
description of the background to the problem, an aim and a rough time plan for the work.
2
During the following 5 to 7 weeks you should conduct a preliminary study where you become
better acquainted with the problem area. You should also get a deeper understanding of the
theories which are relevant to the subject area. This work results in a half time report which
comprises a description of the relevant parts of the studied business, a frame of reference, a
thorough discussion which leads to a precise task, (what it is, the sub-problems and the
questions to be answered by your work), the limitations, a methodology (i.e. how this is to be
done) and a time-plan for the work to come. Your supervisor and examiner will check the
report and comment on the work and can demand additions and changes before accepting the
half time report. The examiner might also come to the conclusion that a re-start is needed, if
the quality of the work so far is insufficient.
Note that your employer shall also accept the way in which the work is to be performed.
−
3
For degree projects in the field of management, the half time report is discussed at a
compulsory planning seminar in which the opponents as well as the supervisor and/or the
examiner participate 8.
During the work which follows, the supervisor shall be kept continually up-dated about how
things are progressing and if necessary, provide constructive criticism and ideas. At least two
weeks before the planned presentation of your project, you must hand in a preliminary final
report, which is generally speaking your completed project report. This should be so well
prepared that only minor additions and adjustments are required and the work as a whole can
be satisfactorily assessed. Before a date for the presentation can be definitely fixed, your
examiner must be of the opinion that your work is of a sufficiently high standard to be
presented.
−
For degree projects in the field of management, a compulsory final seminar is held in which
both the examiner, the supervisor and the opponents participate.
7
The example is for a 30 credit project. This corresponds to 20 weeks of full-time work.
In such cases, there must be opponents in the very first stages of the project work. With the help of incoming degree
project applications, we can often help to find opponents.
8
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4
The presentation is public, that is to say that everybody is welcome to attend. On this
occasion, you present your work and the opponents make an opposition. The presentation
shall take place at the university during those times of the year that are specified in the study
guide. The examiner, the supervisor and the opponents must have a copy of the version to be
presented at least three working days before the presentation.
See more about preparations for the presentation below.
5
The final version of the project report must be handed in at least ten working days after the
presentation.
How and when the project is presented to the external employer is agreed upon between the
student and the external employer.
Degree Projects which are carried out abroad
When a project is carried out abroad, it can sometimes be difficult to follow the process described
above, especially at those occasions when the opponents are to participate. In such cases,
discussions must take place by distance. It is important to have a thorough discussion with your
supervisor before you leave, however.
You must be back in Sweden when the preliminary final report is handed in at the very latest.
Finishing your Degree Project
When your supervisor/examiner has decided that your degree project is ready to be presented,
you can contact IEI’s degree project administrator at [email protected] who will help you with the
following:
− Book a venue/room for the presentation
− ISRN-/ degree project number
− Ensure that the presentation is advertised on IEI’s home page
The requirements for this to happen are that:
− Your examiner has confirmed to IEI´s expedition that your project is ready for presentation
and also when the presentation shall take place.
− You provide the exact title.
A preliminary version of the project report must be given to your examiner, supervisor and
opponents no later than three working days before the presentation. Your supervisor must then
also be in possession of the reflection document (described previously) as a PDF file.
No later than ten working days after the presentation, the final version of your degree project
report must be sent as a PDF file to your examiner, who after approval will forward it to
[email protected].
You should also have prepared for the Electronic publishing via Electronic Press (see below).
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Degree project instructions for IEI, version 2.2
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Electronic publishing
In accordance with LiU policy, IEI’s ambition is for all degree projects to be published electronically
through Linköping Electronic Press (e-press). However, it is always the authors who decide
whether or not their work shall be published by e-press. Therefore to allow electronic publishing
you must complete the form which can be found on IEI’s degree project homepage. The signed
and completed form should be given to the degree project administrator. Note that you must
always ensure that your employer agrees to the report being published electronically.
To up-load the project report, follow the instructions on www.ep.liu.se/exjobb/. When you have
presented your degree project and the report (in PDF form) has been handed in, IEI will take care
of the actual e-publishing.
Confidential degree projects
The finished report falls under the principle of public access to official records. In exceptional
cases, the employer can express the wish that the report should be dealt with in confidence on
the grounds that it contains information of a sensitive nature. In such cases, the employer should
make this request in writing to the IEI Head of Department as soon as possible and well before
the presentation. However, even project reports of a confidential nature shall be handed in to IEI
as a PDF file.
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