Students often collaborate with companies for their final project, bachelor thesis, or master thesis. If the company requests it, there may be a need for a confidentiality agreement.
All employees at SDU are bound by confidentiality agreements, so in most cases, a confidentiality agreement is not necessary
As a result of ‘Forvaltningsloven’, all employees at SDU are bound by confidentiality agreements, so in most cases, a confidentiality agreement is not necessary.
1. Therefore, inform the company that the SDU supervisor, the censor, and other personnel at SDU (secretaries and other administrative staff) are bound by confidentiality agreements under ‘Forvaltningslovens’ § 27. Therefore, a confidentiality agreement is generally not necessary unless requested by the company. Discuss with the company whether this is sufficient for your project.
2. If it is sufficient, you should decide whether your project may be loaned out when submitting it. When submitting the assignment via Digital Examination, you must indicate if your assignment may not be loaned out.
Use the SDU standard confidentiality agreement if the companies do not believe confidentiality obligations are sufficient
If you need an NDA and the company agrees to use SDU’s template, you can fill it in digitally here:
When you click the link, you will need to log in using your SSO-login. You then fill in the template with the relevant information, and the system will automatically generate an NDA. The NDA will automatically be sent to the company, your Head of Department and potential fellow students from your group for signature. Once signed, the NDA is valid.
The NDA only needs to be completed once. If you are working in a group, only one of you fills out the NDA and register the entire group as part of the agreement.
Advantages of using SDU's template
By using SDU’s NDA template, SDU becomes a part in the agreement. This can be advantageous, as it eliminates doubt about whether you, as a student, are permitted to share information with your supervisor and submit your project for examination. Your supervisor, as an employee of SDU, is covered by the NDA. Therefore, you should always suggest that the company use SDU’s own template for the collaboration.
If the company prefers to use their own NDA template, you must fill it in and send it to the legal team at SDU RIO Legal Services by going to www.contracts.sdu.dk.
If the company chooses to do, it may mean SDU is not a part in the agreement, unless otherwise specified. Therefore, you should pay particular attention to the following:
- Your supervisor must be able to guide you
- You must be able to submit your assignment and take the exam
You are free to agree on the terms with the company, as long as you ensure that you can complete your course. This means being able to submit your assignment, have it assessed, and receive guidance from your supervisor.
If you are unsure, please contact either your course supervisor or your nearest student advisor.
SDU has already entered into standard NDAs with a number of companies that many students have previously enjoyed collaborating with, particularly for their bachelor’s projects and master’s theses. These companies include Teradyne Robotics, LEGO, Danfoss, Velux, Foss, Koppers, and Siemens Gamesa.
If you have arranged a collaboration with one of these companies, you must always contact SDU RIO. SDU RIO will help you use the correct agreement template and ensure that everything is handled properly.
Contact SDU RIO Legal Services at www.contracts.sdu.dk.
Some companies prefer to enter into a bilateral Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) – meaning an agreement solely between you and the company, without SDU as a party.
This means that SDU RIO will unfortunately not be able to assist you.
However, there are some important aspects you should be aware of if you are asked to sign such an agreement:
- Sharing confidential information with your supervisor
- If SDU is not a party to the agreement, sharing confidential information with your supervisor may technically be considered a breach of contract, unless the agreement specifically allows it.
Therefore, make sure that your contract includes a clause that permits you to share confidential information with your supervisor
- If SDU is not a party to the agreement, sharing confidential information with your supervisor may technically be considered a breach of contract, unless the agreement specifically allows it.
- Submitting your project for examination
- If SDU is not a party to the agreement, including confidential information from the company in an exam submission could also be a breach of contract.
Your agreement should therefore include a clause that allows you to share confidential information with both the internal and external examiners.
Additionally, SDU must be able to submit your project to an examination appeals board, should you dispute the assessment of your work.
- If SDU is not a party to the agreement, including confidential information from the company in an exam submission could also be a breach of contract.
- Rights to Intellectual Property
If, during your time with the company, you invent something of economic value – for example, data codes, software, etc. – the company may require the rights to it. This is entirely normal in agreements of this kind. However, you should be aware of whether you agree to this. If not, you will need to negotiate any changes directly with the company.
If problems arise with the bilateral agreement and you're unsure how to proceed, you can contact a legal aid organization.