| Learning objectives |
The subject of the thesis must be within the
programme profile’s particular academic identity
and theoretical field(s). After having completed the Master’s
thesis, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate ability to independently produce a qualified piece
of research applying
- Document in-depth knowledge of the subject of the thesis
- Formulate a research question that steers and structures the
research process
- Explain and evaluate the choice of methodology used to answer
the research question
- Explain and evaluate the choice of theory used to answer the
research question
- Select and process primary and secondary sources used as
documentation in the analysis
- Discuss the quality of these sources, including their
appropriateness in terms of providing answers to the research
question
- Explain and evaluate the overall correspondence between: the
research question, selection and use of theory, collection and
strength of empirical data the analysis, conclusion, and
generalizability of the findings
- Discuss the findings regarding their implications for the
practical issues of its context, i.e. the entrepreneurship project
and its business plan (BBIP 5) and the internship.
- Often the business issue adressed in the thesis is affected by
its bio-scientific foundations. In this case the thesis must
demonstrate the student's ability to relate bio-scientific
aspects to their business implications
- The grade 12 is awarded in cases where the Master’s thesis
meets the above criteria requirements to an excellent degree, i.e.
with no or only few deficiencies
|
| Course prerequisites |
| To be allowed to start the Master's Thesis,
the students must have finished the 10 weeks' Internship (
eastern vacation excluded), as it is part of the Master's
Thesis. Moreover, for the BBIP Entrepreneurship Project students
must have handed in their mini-project. The mini-project is part of
the master thesis even if it does not have a separate
exam. |
| Examination |
|
Master's
Thesis:
|
| Exam
ECTS |
30 |
| Examination form |
Oral exam based on written product
In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product
must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The
grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and
the individual oral performance. |
| Individual or group exam |
Individual |
|
max. 2 students can write together. The students
will have to defend individually |
| Size of written product |
Max. 80 pages |
|
The master’s thesis must not exceed 80 standard
pages (one standard page consists of 2275 characters including
spaces) in length for one student and 120 standard pages for a
joint thesis submitted by two students.
The examination in the Master’s thesis takes the form of an oral
defence of a written thesis. The duration of the oral exam is one
hour including grading.
The assessment is carried out by the supervisor (if there are more
supervisors, then only the primary supervisor) and one external
examiner. The grade awarded will take into account the thesis
(including its abstract), the oral defence, and the student’s
spelling and style – although more emphasis will be placed on the
academic content. Students may write the thesis either on their own
or in collaboration with another student. The oral defence is
individual.
In the event a student has not passed the regular examination in
his or her master’s thesis, he or she should hand in a renewal of
the contract with a reformulation of the research question. If a
student does not hand in the master's thesis within the
deadline, he or she also will have to hand in a renewal of the
contract. In both cases, the student will use an exam attempt.
Deadlines for submitting Master’s thesis is normally 7 months after
the supervisor has signed the contract, but as the students are
writing their master's thesis during the internship ( the
internship is an integrated part of the master's thesis), we
expect the students to hand in their master's thesis in
May/June. The oral defense will take place within 4 weeks after the
master's thesis has been handed in. Regular exams are not held
in July. |
| Assignment type |
Master's thesis |
| Duration |
Written product to be submitted on specified date and
time.
60 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade,
and informing plus explaining the grade |
| Preparation time |
No preparation |
| Grading scale |
7-step scale
The student’s spelling and writing skills are taken into
consideration in the overall assessment of the examination
performance, but the academic content is given the highest
weight. |
| Regulations regarding the summary |
The resumé must be written in English but is not part of the
thesis |
| Examiner(s) |
Internal examiner and external examiner |
| Exam period |
Spring Term |
| Make-up exam/re-exam |
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
|
Description of the exam
procedure
All other elements of the programme
must be completed before the thesis is handed in.The Study Board
may grant a dispensation from this rule in cases of special
circumstances.
Before being allowed to register for the exam on the master thesis,
all other exams on the programme must have been passed. This means
that
a) the grade point average for the exams in the 1st academic
year is 02 without rounding up,
b) all elective courses have been passed, and
c) all exam grades included in the grade point average are 02 or
above.
|
|
| Course content and structure |
|
The master thesis addresses selected analytical issues
encountered during the BBIP Entrepreneurship Project course and the
internship. These two courses are concerned with practical problems
in commercializing bio-innovations, and results are presented in
terms of practical answers. Although advanced analytical tools and
concepts were applied to reach those answers, they were not
explicitly considered and accounted for. But the business plan
presenting these answers is not intended to account for this
analysis from an academic perspective.
The main idea of the thesis is to revisit such analytical
challenges so as to examine and reflect upon them in depth, from an
academic perspective. That means situating the problem in the
academic literature, applying advanced theoretical and
methodological tools, critically considering the strength of
conclusions etc. This reflective revisiting of previous practical
problems may be undertaken in papers which in combination meets the
requirements for the thesis while they separately refer to the BBIP
Entrepreneurship Project and to the Internship. In terms of volume
roughly 1/3 of the thesis refers to the Entrepreneurship Project,
while 2/3 refer to a topic emerging from the internship. In terms
of topics
the two components of the thesis may address different, mutually
unrelated issues
|
| Teaching methods |
Thesis supervision from the BBIP faculty is
allocated to each student. Thesis Parts I and II may be supervised
by the same C.M. (Bio) faculty member if the two parts draw mainly
on the same discipline. If not, two supervisors are allocated. The
advisor for Part II is the main supervisor, while for Part I he/she
is referred to as the secondary supervisor. The final oral defense
refers to both parts of the thesis.
With the advisor the student agrees on topics for both components
of the thesis, and supervision is offered regarding all learning
objectives for the thesis. The host company assigns a mentor to the
assignee. A contact between student, mentor and CBS-supervisor
before and during the internship secures that in the internship the
student works with issues, and in a context, facilitating the
completion of a thesis based on the internship.
If a student writes alone, he will receive 21 supervision hours and
two students writing together will receive 32 supervision hours.
Additionally, the thesis subject may also require bio-scientific
supervision.This is offered as a standard component of the
supervision of the business plan underpinning Thesis Part I,
directed at the bio-scientific understanding of the invention in
the entrepreneurship project. If for Thesis Part II additional
bio-scientific supervision is called for, 2 additional hours are
made available, based on notification to BBIPs study administration
and identification of the bio-scientific supervisor in
question. |
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