Thesis project

The MBI Thesis Project consists of a 15 ECs project proposal phase (INFOMMBI1) and a 25 ECs thesis phase (INFOMMBI2); additionally 3 ECs are related to the MBI Colloquium. The thesis project takes about 8 months. The set up phase that is necessary to arrange your project is excluded from the ECs count.

The thesis project requires a project idea, a (first & second) thesis supervisor, and a thesis project facilitator. The project facilitator can either be an external organization or Utrecht University. Original ideas from the students are welcome, as long as they are aligned with the research interests and/or proposed projects by the supervisors: see the KonJoin system.

When can a thesis be started? When all courses are successfully completed, with the exception of Dilemmas of the Scientist (FI-MHPSDL1 and FI-MHPSDL2), for which you can do the second workshop (FI-MHPSDL2) during your theses process. A further exception can be given by the thesis coordinator for students with one pending non-mandatory course. Note that you should start looking for a supervisor and a topic before you have finished all your courses (see “Set Up” below).

Previous theses. To get an overview of how an MBI thesis looks like, you can consult previous theses online.

This preliminary step is executed before the official start of Phase 1. The duration largely depends on how quickly a supervisor is found and a topic is agreed upon. This part is excluded from the duration of the thesis project.

1. Find a topic and a (first) supervisor 

You can do an external or an internal (UU) project. The following tips might come in handy when looking for a thesis topic:  

• Konjoin always has MBI projects.
• Think about the courses you found interesting and ask the lecturers of these courses if they have/know of any projects. 
• Check staff members’ UU or Google Scholar profile. 

Note that any topic has to be agreed with the UU staff member who will act as a first supervisor. Arrange meetings with staff members to discuss possible options, based on their research interests. 

Students can also try to arrange a project that fits within an internship with an external organization. Any project, however, requires a first supervisor from UU who guarantees the scientific quality of the thesis project, so it is advisable to talk to potential supervisors and/or the thesis coordinator before agreeing on an internship.

2. Define your project  

Together with the first supervisor, describe your project's title, problem, aims, and research goals. Come up with a short textual description (about 200 words). Also make clear arrangements with your first supervisor concerning planning, holidays, supervision meetings and so forth. Please make sure you have a clear understanding with your first supervisor regarding deadlines and extra work, holidays, et cetera to be done during the thesis project. Normally, a thesis project runs for 3 periods/terms, but you can set any reasonable deadline in agreement with your supervisor. Please see below what to do when your thesis is delayed and you have to apply for a thesis deadline extension (part 1 and/or part 2). 

3. Ensure adherence to Ethics and Privacy regulations -  Quick Scan 

From Period 2 of 2022-23, all MBI thesis projects require ethics and privacy approval. For projects that do not involve human users and data privacy issues this will be a brief and straightforward process, but you still need to complete an ethics checklist. 

If you are doing your project with a supervisor who already has ethics approval for his/her range of projects, then ask the supervisor if you need to take further action. Otherwise, please inform your supervisor that you need to obtain an ethics and privacy approval. Go to the website that contains the ethics checklist and sample Information sheets and consent forms: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/institute-of-information-and-computing-sciences/ethics-and-privacy. 

First, download the Word form and discuss how to fill it in with your supervisor. Then fill in the Qualtrics form. Please fill in as the moderator email: g.wagenaar@uu.nl. 

4. Internship contract

When your Research Project is taking place outside of Utrecht University, then it is required to have an internship contract. Arrange the internship contract before submitting your application form in Osiris.

The internship contract has to be checked and signed by the Research Project Coordinators, Rebecca Puyk and Noor Weelink, on behalf of the UU via science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl. Once your internship contract has been checked and signed by the UU, you can upload it with your application form in Osiris (for more information on that, go to the page 'Getting Started').

The contract options are as follows:

• The Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) internship contract is preferred for an external Research Project inside the Netherlands.
• The EAIE contract is preferred for an external Research Project outside of the Netherlands.
• The host organisation may have their own internship contract, provided that it meets the requirements of Utrecht University.
• If you are a non-EU student, then you should use the NUFFIC agreement.

Please note, that there can only be one internship contract, so please discuss this with the host organisation carefully. We advise students to first discuss their internship (contract) with their supervisor before signing.

5. Formalize the thesis request 

Use Osiris student (select 'MyCases', 'Start Case', ‘Research Project GSNS’) to submit your research project application form; if applicable, you will also upload the signed WPA with your application form in OSIRIS. 

Important: in order to apply completely and correctly, you must have discussed the project setup with your intended project supervisor beforehand! We advise you to study the request form previous to discussing it with your supervisor, or fill it out together, to make sure you obtain all of the information required. 

After submitting your application form in OSIRIS, your form will be forwarded to Student Affairs, your 1st and 2nd supervisor, the MBI thesis coordinator, and the Board of Examiners for checks and approvals. You may be asked for modifications, should they find any problems with the form.  

Please note: You cannot register yourself in OSIRIS for the relevant research project courses (INFOMAI1 and INFOMAI2); you will be automatically registered for part 1 of the project upon approval of the Research Project Application Form.

The student defines the research method for the thesis, and conducts a scientific survey of the literature in the field of study. The intended learning outcomes are that the student should:

• Be able of designing and developing a research plan, and
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the relevant literature.

The proposal contains at least the following elements:

• Title page, which should include at least working title, student name and number, university name, faculty, master’s name, and the names of the first and second supervisor.
• Research plan, consisting of:
  • Problem statement: gap in the literature and/or practice
  • Research question and subquestions
  • Outline of and justification for a chosen research method
  • Literature research protocol
  • Milestones for the key phases of the project
• A review of the literature that confirms that the gap exists and that the proposed research method is suitable and can lead to interesting scientific insights. The literature review can be performed using any technique spanning from an enumeration of related work at the one extreme, and a systematic literature study at the other.

The work for this phase will not be graded but only marked as "Voldaan" (pass). Phase 1 is finalized with a presentation in the MBI colloquium, which describes the context of the thesis, research questions, envisaged method and artifact(s), and the findings from the literature. The evaluation of the first part should consider the following factors: project's context, research approach and presentation. The first supervisor will handle the grading through Osiris.

Delays. Part 1 should be finalized within 3 months since the beginning of the project. When this part is ranked as not satisfactory, a retake project proposal should be handed in. For details, see the protocol delay at the end of this page.

This phase concerns the actual execution of the research according to the approach defined in Phase 1.The second part is passed when the student thesis is approved by the two supervisors, and a final thesis presentation has been successfully made. The learning outcomes for the student are the following:

• Conduct sound scientific research according to a predefined plan,
• Contribute to the scientific body of knowledge,
• Critically review the research and its plan,
• Give a convincing presentation about the work, and
• Write a scientific report about the conducted research.

The grade of Phase 2 will take into account the following artifacts

• The thesis report
• The final presentation

The grade is calculated using the criteria defined by the graduate school of natural sciences.

As a reference, a grade of 8 or above is expected to meet the standards for a publication in a respectable scientific venue.

Cum-laude graduation. To obtain cum-laude, Phase 2 should obtain a grade of at least 8.5 .

Delays. The student will receive a grade after 8 months since the beginning of the entire project. In special cases, when students have achieved all the ILOs, the graduation can take place before the 8 months. For retake rules, see the delay protocol at the end of this page. For an MBI thesis, the maximum grade for a retake is 8.0.

When approaching the finalization of the thesis and the scientific paper (i.e, when the supervisors think so!), it is time to wrap up the project and graduate.

1. Set date for graduation: both supervisors should agree on the date, including the time. Please be aware that results have to be registered in OSIRIS before the 15th of the month so that the file can be send to the Board of Examiners and the student can graduate that month. If the grades are in after the 15th, the student cannot deregister from Studielink and (s)he has to pay for another month.
2. Ask for MBI Colloquium EC: obtain 3 EC for the MBI colloquium by sending a message including your student number to the MBI colloquium coordinators.
3. Thesis defense arrangements: Always agree on the date and time of the defense with your supervisors first.
   Important: The thesis defense cannot take place unless the presentation in the colloquium has been given. This means, the student first has to schedule a colloquium date (see Colloquium / Give a talk at the colloquium). Then, a defense date after the colloquium presentation date can be negotiated with the supervisor. Thus, the defense must be given after the colloquium talk.
4. Arrange a room with beamer or presentation screen: send an e-mail to the department's secretaries. Please make sure to include the time, date, name of the thesis, and supervisor. (Alternatively, the supervisor might be able to reserve a room via the room booking system in a few seconds. In that case, the room should only be reserved on the name of the supervisor, the calendar entry with invitations is created as follows.)
5. Enter a calendar entry in MS Teams to make your defense visible to all colloquium participants.
6. During the defense, it is not required to record the names of participants with an attendance list, because students who want to get an attendance token will send an abstract of the defense talk to the colloquium coordinators.
7. Send a copy of your thesis to your supervisors at least one week before the defense.
8. Thesis defense: the student gives a presentation of 25 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session that typically lasts about 15-20 minutes. A grade will be decided and probably announced afterwards.
9. Upload your thesis through ‘Osiris Case’
10. Graduation ceremony: an official ceremony, held in the Academiegebouw in Domplein, where the diplomas are handed out. The dates are available here.

Edge cases

What happens when a student gets an insufficient result after part 2, even after the retake? The student has to start a new project from scratch.

No part-time thesis

The MBI programme is full-time. As such, thesis projects should not be seen as a side project next to a part time job. Professors are entitled to reject a student's request for them to be a supervisor, if the student wants to finish a graduation project next to a job.

Scope

The scope of the final thesis project shoud fit the interests of the lecturers from the department. For an overview, either check the websites of the group members, or KonJoin. Note that internships offered by companies do not automatically constitute a thesis topic; an internship without a supervisor is NOT a thesis.

Admission

In principle, admission to start the final thesis project officially is permitted when all courses are passed and is confirmed by the (likely) supervisor of the student, after the supervisor has approved the short proposal. Exceptions can be granted when only one course is pending and close to completion; however, expectations are left to the discretion of the MBI programme coordinator.

Doing your thesis outside the Netherlands

It is possible for highly-motivated students who aim at high-quality projects to conduct their thesis outside the Netherlands, either at a company or in a university. Students who intend to spend time abroad are welcome. The same rules on the quality of the project and the availability of a first supervisor apply to projects abroad too. A supervisor may decline to serve as supervisor for a project abroad, whenever (s)he finds the risk of project failure too high. Students doing their thesis abroad are exempted from attending the MBI colloquium.

What is a bad time to apply for an internship?

Summer is a bad time: generally people are on holidays throughout July and August, slowing down the process by a month or two. If interested in starting in September, please contact companies in May or June.