• Formulate and investigate a problem grounded in organisational practice, and analyse it using relevant theoretical and conceptual frameworks.
• Select, discuss, and apply relevant academic literature to interpret empirical material generated through either active participation (internship) or systematic observation (fieldwork)
• Demonstrate the ability to link empirical insights from organisational contexts to central themes and debates within the student’s study programme, showing how theory and practice inform one another.
• Critically reflect on the student’s own role in generating knowledge - whether as participant or observer - including considerations of analytical distance, involvement, and ethical implications.

Purpose of Internship and Fieldwork

Internship and fieldwork are two complementary formats through which students engage with organisational practice as part of their academic learning. Both aim to deepen students’ understanding of how professional and organisational processes unfold in real-world contexts, and to support the development of theoretically informed, practice-based knowledge.

The internship format is based on active participation in an organisational setting. Through involvement in concrete tasks and projects, students apply and develop their theoretical and analytical competencies while contributing to the work of the organisation. This mode of engagement provides insight into decision-making processes, organisational dynamics, and the practical application of knowledge, and forms the basis for critical reflection on the relationship between theory and practice.

The fieldwork format, by contrast, is oriented towards systematic observation and analysis of organisational practices. Here, students adopt a primarily analytical role and generate empirical material through ethnographically inspired methods such as observation and interviews. Whilst fieldwork may involve forms of participation, the emphasis remains on understanding and interpreting practices rather than contributing operationally to them.

Together, these two formats offer distinct but related pathways for engaging with organisations: internship through participation and contribution, and fieldwork through observation and inquiry. Both approaches support the development of reflexive, theoretically grounded insights into professional practice and may serve as a foundation for empirical work in the master’s thesis.

• Teacher’s own research
• Methodology
• Models

• Development of research questions
• Data collection
• Analysis
• Students conduct independent research-like activities under supervision