The requirements for an In-Company project are very different from the requirements for e.g. an internship on a bachelor of engineering programme. It is therefore important that you familiarize yourself with them before signing up for the project.
The In-Company Project is an elective course in the 3rd semester of the Master's programme, and has a scope corresponding to 15 ECTS points. The activity is carried out during the period: the first weekday in September to the first weekday in January or the first weekday in February to the first weekday in June.
The project, which must be relevant in relation to your studies, must be well-defined and at a level corresponding to teaching courses at Master's level at the university.
The In-Company Project is an individual project. Therefore, you cannot therefore write the project together with a co-author (a fellow student). You may work on the same project, but in that case both the project descriptions and the reports must be individual.
In order for an In-Company project to be approved, you must have made a workplace/facilities available in the company 2 days a week during the 15 weeks that a semester lasts.
Furthermore, the company must make a professional supervisor available to you. This company supervisor must have appropriate professional education to be able to provide the necessary guidance.
As a starting point, the company must be located in Denmark, as you must follow physical education at SDU in the courses offered in the 3rd semester of the Master’s study programme alongside the project. In other words, the In-Company Project must not lead to an extension of the study period.
Since an In-Company project replaces courses at SDU, there are a number of requirements for the academic level and it must be approved by the Academic Study Board prior to commencement.
The In-Company project must contain a project description which describes the problem/task to be solved in collaboration with the company. It must also contain learning objectives and goals – preferably several – and include methods that must be implemented in the project. The project description must be able to lead to an academic report, which contains both a well-defined problem and literature studies, and which demonstrates your ability to describe and explain theory and methods implemented in the project.
The project description is developed in collaboration between you, the company and an SDU supervisor.
Registration
You must register for the In-Company Project along with other courses via the SDU Student Self-service (https://sso.sdu.dk) on the 20th - 30th November for courses offered in the spring semester, or the 20th - 30th May for courses offered in the autumn semester. Registering for the In-Company Project means that you are bound by the Faculty's established project period (respectively from the first weekday in September to the first weekday in January and from the first weekday in February to the first weekday in June) and the submission deadlines (respectively no later than the first weekday in January and the first weekday in June). You must apply for a dispensation if you cannot comply with the established project period.
NOTE: You must meet the prerequisites to be allowed to participate in the In-Company Project. In other words, you must have passed all courses on the 1st and 2nd semester of the Master's program BEFORE you start the In-Company Project. If you do not fulfil this prerequisite and still wish to participate in the course, you must apply for a dispensation by using the TECH Application of Exemption from Prerequisites. Please be aware that the Study Board's practice is restrictive in this regard. You find more information about the practice of the Study Board on https://mitsdu.dk/en/tek/studienaevn.
You will find the course description for the In-Company Project in your subject selection. The course description contains, among other things, information about the exam form.
Please note that you cannot write a Master’s Thesis of 40 ECTS points if you register for the In-Company Project.
Agreement on In-Company Project
After registration, you must enter into the In-Company contract, i.e. Agreement on In-Company Project at SDU (MSc Eng Programmes) via TECH Agreement on in-company project (or alternatively via https://spoc.sdu.dk -> Study Secretariat -> Project- and trainee).
The agreement is completed in consultation between you, the SDU supervisor and the company supervisor. The agreement is automatically forwarded to the Academic Study Board for approval, when all of the persons mentioned above have approved the contract. You will receive a study board decision in your SDU email when the Board has made a decision in the case. Get more information about when you can expect the decision here.
Changes can no longer be made to the contract once it has been sent for approval. Therefore, it is important that you check that the information entered is correct, especially the business advisor's contact information, before clicking on "Save and send".
You must have submitted your Agreement on project in company for approval by the Academic Study Board well in advance:
-
preferably before 15 June, and no later than 15 August for courses that start on 1 September
-
preferably before 15 December, and no later than 15 January for courses that start on 1 February.
The agreement must be approved by the Academic Study Board before you start your In-Company Project.
You yourself must - in good time - find an SDU supervisor from the Faculty of Engineering. As a starting point, the main supervisor must be employed by the Faculty of Engineering. A possible co-supervisor may be employed at another faculty. All the faculty's professors, associate professors and assistant professors can act as main supervisors. PhD students can only act as co-supervisors.
The supervisor has the formal responsibility for guiding you academically during the project and must participate in the final oral exam. A supervisor's role is to guide throughout the entire project period through an ongoing dialogue with you.
An In-Company project is unpaid
No salary may be paid in connection with the project, and the project is not a job position.
Subsequent agreement on a lesser acknowledgment is permitted. The Danish Agency for Education and Science states the following: “A recognition cannot not be granted as a predetermined income that you can expect to receive in the same way as a salary”. It is voluntary for the company whether it wants to give such a recognition. The amount cannot be higher than a maximum of DKK 3,000 per month.
The company can enter into a supplementary NDA (= confidentiality clause) as a supplement to the project description, if there is a need to establish more detailed rules regarding the framework for the project, including confidentiality and rights, between the company and the student.
Read more about NDA/download templates here.
NB: All SDU's employees, including supervisors and heads of programme, are subject to a duty of secrecy, cf. the Administration Act. Thus, there is very rarely a need for a NDA to also cover SDU.
How do you get in touch with a company?
SDU offers a number of events where companies can meet students and a digital platform for posting projects. These offers are free to use.
Events: Twice a year the Faculty of Engineering holds the events SDU Internship and Project Day in Odense and Student Collaboration Day in Sønderborg, where students and companies can meet each other.
SDU Jobbank: SDU Jobbank is a platform for posting both study-related cooperation and jobs.
When should you start looking for a business?
It is normal to start looking approx. 6-8 months before start-up.