Collaboration with students

Many students are interested in writing their theses and degree projects at a company or organisation. Students get to test their ability to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life problems – which can generate utility for you, and make the student more attractive on the labour market. Seize the opportunity, work together with a student who writes a thesis in collaboration with your company/organisation!

Below you will find a few practical questions that are important to keep in mind for a degree project, project work or internship position. The degree project is used as an example throughout, but most items can be applied also to a project work or an internship position. In addition to this, students will receive information from their department and supervisor on how the work should be designed and implemented.

Make contact well in advance!

Keep in mind that a degree project is divided into three stages.

1. The planning stage
   This stage takes place before the actual start of the thesis course. During this stage, you can come up with a question or an area that you would like to gain more information about and contact a student for an unconditional meeting. You can get help from the university job portal, our collaboration coordinators, or other parties to reach the students. The initiative could, of course, also come from a student who has come up with his/her own set of questions.
2. The implementation stage
   This is the actual thesis period, during which the work is to be conducted, discussed, and the thesis is to be examined.
3. The evaluation stage
   Feedback from the student to the company/organisation. This can be done either in the form of a submitted report or you can come to an agreement that the student gives an oral presentation (or the like).

Be prepared

Make sure to be prepared; what do you want done and why. The more concrete you are, the easier it will be to match your needs with a student’s interests. However, do not be too narrow or specific. There must be room for both parties to influence content and implementation.

You convey a picture of your workplace

Keep in mind that when working with students in connection to study-related projects, you are an ambassador for your workplace. If you do a good job, this will promote a positive picture of your organisation. If you do not do a good job, there is a risk that it will be more difficult for you to attract students in the future. If you feel that you do not have the time for a student, it is better to decline than to do the work half-heartedly.

Start with an unconditional meeting

The first meeting between the student and the company/organisation should be unconditional. Both parties should be free to change their mind in case something does not feel right.

Discuss expectations

At this meeting, there are some questions that need to be answered in order for the work to become as good as possible.

1. Framework
   Make sure to obtain a description of what the framework from the university looks like as well as contact details for the supervisor/course coordinator at the university.
2. Approach
   Will the thesis be written only in relation to the individual company/organisation or will it be a comparative study? If it is to be written in relation to the individual company/organisation: Will there be regular dialogue? Is the student expected to be on location at the company/organisation during the course of the work? Or should the student just gather material and report back when the thesis is completed? The level of contact will vary depending on what path you choose. However, expect to set aside time! Reach an agreement on the scope. One person at the company/organisation should be appointed contact person for the student.
3. Dialogue meetings
   If you choose to have regular dialogue meetings, you should decide how these should take place. As physical meetings or via phone or email? How often?
4. Public access
   The university is a government authority, which means that the thesis will be publicly accessible once it is completed, which means that anyone can request to see it, download it, etc. If the student is given access to corporate secrets, the student can be bound by professional secrecy. Therefore, it is important to discuss from the start whether certain things should not be mentioned. How much of the material should be anonymised, etc.? In some cases, it can be relevant to write two different versions of the thesis; one that is submitted to the university and one that is submitted to the company/organisation. In such cases, it is recommendable that the content and scope of the classified information is documented in writing to make sure there are no misunderstandings between the student and the company/organisation.
5. Immaterial rights
   The student owns the result of his/her work unless agreed otherwise. For work that deals with, for instance, product development and design where the student could come to develop new commercial products it is particularly important that the company and the student come to an agreement concerning the right to the result before starting a collaboration. If needed, the university will gladly assist in establishing such an agreement.
6. Expenses
   There should be no expenses involved for the student in the writing of the thesis. Costs that arise in connection to the thesis should be paid for by the company/organisation. However, this should be discussed in advance.
7. Read the report?
   Would you like to read the report before the student submits it to avoid misunderstandings concerning details/facts? However, you cannot affect result/analysis.
8. Presentation
   When the thesis is completed, it is important with feedback. Should the thesis be presented? In that case, to whom and in what way?

Before tuning meetings

If you are to have a tuning meeting because the student needs help with something or wants feedback, you should recommend the student to send you an email in advance, to give you the opportunity to prepare, which saves time for both of you.

Provide your contact details

Make sure that you get the student’s contact details (that apply also after completion of studies) so that you can get in touch if needed. You may want to contact and inform the student of how the result has been of use to your organisation? If you are pleased with the result, it is often appreciated to offer the student to use you as a reference.

In case things are not working out

You can contact the student’s supervisor at the university. There are also course coordinators and programme coordinators for all courses and programmes. The Office of External Relations can help you get in touch with the right person within the organisation.