A Master’s thesis written in collaboration with a company or an organisation is an academic Master’s thesis and will be assessed according to the academic objectives in the relevant academic regulations in the same way as any other Master’s thesis. Supervisors for this type of thesis, as well as any other Master’s thesis, play a key role in the student’s process of writing the thesis.

It must be assessed whether the topic has been sufficiently defined, and whether the thesis can be completed within the timeframe and academic framework specified in the academic regulations.
In other words, supervisors for this type of thesis have the same duties and responsibilities as supervisors for any other type of Master’s thesis.

According to the Business Committee at Aarhus University, the minimum criteria for registering a Master’s thesis as having been produced in collaboration with a company or an organisation are that the student, together with the supervisor, has been in contact with the company or organisation and has presented/agreed on a problem statement for the thesis, and that a collaboration agreement has been made with the company or organisation in question.

Students who choose to write their Master’s thesis in collaboration with a company or an organisation gain unique insight into the company or organisation concerned and the field in which it operates. Students also strengthen their network on the labour market and get the opportunity to use their theoretical expertise to solve specific problems, producing results which can then be used in practice. As part of its strategic framework contract for 2018-2021, Aarhus University aims to focus on increasing collaboration with public and private companies to include specific collaborative projects, theses and case competitions involving researchers and students. And finally, these theses help to develop dialogue and contact between Aarhus University and the business community, thereby contributing to increased research collaboration and closer relationships between the world of education/research and employers.

A Master’s thesis written in collaboration with a company or an organisation normally involves the following process:

• The student contacts a company or an organisation with a request for collaboration. This contact may involve consultation with the thesis supervisor.
• The student enters into a collaboration agreement with the company or organisation in question. The university does not insist that this agreement must be in writing, but a written agreement may be an advantage from the student’s point of view.
• After completing the thesis, the student can present the results to the company or organisation*. This presentation can be in the form of a report, an oral presentation or a workshop for the staff at the company/organisation.

*The university does not require the student to present the results to the organisation or company in question.

A Master’s thesis written in collaboration with a company or an organisation is subject to exactly the same terms and conditions as any other Master’s thesis at the Faculty of Arts. This means that students must comply with the relevant academic regulations and the rules which apply to Master’s theses at the school at which the students are enrolled. Master’s theses written in collaboration with a company or an organisation must conform to one of the thesis types described in the academic regulations. For instance, they can be produced in the form of a monograph thesis or a product thesis.

Some students may need help or advice, for instance in relation to making initial contact or balancing expectations with the collaborative partner in question. Here are some of the things that supervisors can focus on in this connection:

• What the partner is expected to do, for instance allowing time to conduct qualitative interviews; providing access to internal documents and office facilities or a workstation; specifying the duration of the collaboration; and giving feedback.
• Confidentiality and anonymisation of data.
• The identity of the student’s contact at the company or organisation concerned, and the number of meetings that are needed.
• How the student will present their results and proposed actions to the company or organisation.

The student is responsible for drawing up any collaboration agreement that may be required and for signing a confidentiality agreement with the company or organisation (if necessary). On the student portal, students can find a draft collaboration agreement.

Students can write their Master’s thesis in collaboration with all kinds of private companies, public-sector institutions and NGOs – for instance educational institutions, the health sector, companies in the IT business, municipalities, firms of consultants or cultural institutions. The students are responsible for confirming that this is the kind of thesis they wish to write.

Companies and organisations can post their thesis projects in the AU Job and Project Bank.