| Learning objectives |
To achieve the grade 12, students
should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor
mistakes or errors: 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:
- Develop a research problem by which an actual challenge in
biobusiness is productively connected to extant literature and to
available data.
- Select and adapt theories
- Assess strong and weak point of methods and research
design
- Often the business challenge 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 implication
- Provide consistency and coherence in the relationships between
problem statement, analysis and conclusion
- Explain and discuss the implications of research results for
practices and problems in biobusiness relevant in relation to
business practice within the program's field of study
- Communicate the content of the thesis to
peers.
|
| 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.
If the number of students outnumbers the number of internship
places offered by the companies (depending on the economic
situation of a given company, the number of internship places may
vary), the student will be given the possibility to write a
theoretical master’s thesis or a case-orientated master’s thesis.
It is very important that all core courses are passed before the
internship starts as it may have an influence on the performance of
the tasks in the company. If one student has not passed the core
course before the start of the internship and the number of
internships is limited, the study programme may reserve the right
to cancel the internship. |
| 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 |
Oral group exam based on written group
product |
| Number of people in the group |
2-3 |
| Size of written product |
Max. 120 pages |
|
The master’s thesis must not exceed 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, up to 3 students can write
together |
| 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. |
| Student workload |
| vejledning |
21 hours |
| internship |
370 hours |
|
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