We offer bachelor's and master's theses in collaboration with companies and organizations. This gives the students relevant experience and the partners valuable insights and solutions.
Collaborative assignments consist of a student, lecturer and company from working life solving an assignment together. This opens up opportunities to establish larger professional networks - for all parties. Through collaborative assignments, the student can work on real issues that the company is concerned with and can benefit from. At the same time, you get to know both the student and his or her expertise, and contact is established with the academic community. This can also form the basis for later recruitment and collaboration. For the student, the goal is a professionally interesting project in a vibrant working environment. The company will cover expenses related to the completion of the assignment, such as travel, material costs and lab tests. The student shall not receive a salary or similar remuneration for the collaboration. There are separate standard agreements for thesis collaboration between students and industry. The agreements can be found here: Standard agreement between company and student - Knowledge Base - NTNU
Task collaboration can be carried out at several levels. Duration and focus vary between different assignments. Agree with the student and the student's supervisor on the appropriate level of the assignment. An assignment should provide new academic insight in a specific field. It is not necessarily intended to deliver a finished product, and thus differs from commissioned research or consultancy assignments. Concrete, short-term projects are often better suited as professionally relevant part-time or summer jobs. Collaborative assignments are often better suited to surveys and feasibility studies.
The assignment should be specific enough to identify relevant academic environments and students, but at the same time open enough to be adapted to the theory and methods included in the discipline.
Please note that some academic environments receive many inquiries from external parties, and often have more assignment proposals than students. Ultimately, it is the students who choose which assignments they want to work on.
Assignment collaboration at different levels
Master's thesis
The master's thesis is an assignment at a higher academic level with specialization in a subject relevant to the degree, and marks the end of a five-year course of study. A master's thesis normally lasts 6-12 months and is submitted before the summer. The thesis is usually individual. In addition to in-depth academic study, the student learns methods, text and writing skills. A master's thesis provides a thorough academic assessment of a problem, and often involves collecting and analyzing new data.
Many students also complete a project related to the master's thesis, in the form of a smaller preliminary study. Usually in the semester before. In that case, this will also be included in the collaboration on the master's thesis.
Bachelor's thesis
The bachelor's thesis is a thesis at a lower academic level with an in-depth study of a subject relevant to the degree. A bachelor's thesis usually lasts up to 6 months and is submitted as part of a three-year bachelor's degree program. The thesis can be solved individually or by a group. Many students study other subjects at the same time as writing their bachelor's thesis. In addition to academic specialization, the student learns methods, text and writing comprehension. The bachelor's thesis does not have the same academic weight as a master's thesis, and is often more practically oriented.