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2017/2018  KAN-CBIOO2000U  Master's Thesis

English Title
Master's Thesis

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 30 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc. in Business Administration and Bioentrepreneurship
Course coordinator
  • Palle Høy Jakobsen - SI
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation
Last updated on 19-12-2017

Relevant links
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, 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 Individual oral 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 45 min 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.

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 the Master’s Thesis: 1. part (1/3) of the thesis has to be handed in February (the first week) and the second part (2/3) has to be handed in no later than June 1st. 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.
45 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 ( max. one page) must be written in English. The resumé is included in the assessment of the thesis.
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and external examiner
Exam period Spring
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 16 supervision hours and two students writing together will receive 24 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.
Feedback during the teaching period
Feedback will given at the oral examination
Student workload
vejledning 21 hours
internship 370 hours
Last updated on 19-12-2017