Confidential theses and projects
Students often cooperate with companies or organisations when writing major assignments, such as bachelor's project, project-based internship, and master's thesis – called 'assignments’ in the following. A confidentiality agreement may be required, but only if requested by the company/organisation.
Assignments and declaration of confidentiality
Assignments and declaration of confidentiality
Confidentiality in relation to assignments
In connection with the student's work on an assignment, the AU supervisor, co-examiner, and other involved at Aarhus University (secretaries and other administrative staff) is bound by a duty of confidentiality in accordance with Danish Public Administration Act. It is worth noting that the information provided to the supervisor during the supervision process is subject to confidentiality in accordance with the rules laid down in the Danish Public Administration Act.
Therefore, there is generally no need for a confidentiality agreement if the company/organisation does not request one.
AU will not distribute copies to third parties, unless the student authorises the assignment for loan via AU libraries, or disclosure is required by law (e.g. in the case of freedom of information requests).
In the event of an examination appeal, assignments will be made available to all members of the Board of Appeals. All members are bound by a duty of confidentiality pursuant to the Danish Public Administration Act
Assignments marked confidential
Assignments marked confidential
If an assignment contains confidential information, students must mark it as 'confidential' when submitting the assignment. This is done on the front page of the assignment and must also be chosen by the student in WISEflow for assignments submitted electronically.
When submitting a final project (a Bachelor’s thesis or Master’s dissertation), students may choose to withhold consent for the library to make their work available. Consequently, the project will not be accessible for reading or loaning.
For most companies/organisations, marking the assignment as confidential is sufficient, while others may ask for a confidentiality agreement. If a company/organisation requests a confidentiality agreement, such an agreement can be made between the student, the company/organisation, and AU. A confidentiality agreement is therefore primarily intended to regulate the student's conduct towards the company or organisation by obliging them to treat all accessible information as strictly confidential.
If the company/organisation requires a confidentiality agreement and if the agreement is acceptable to AU, it can be signed by AU. See more about different types of confidentiality agreements under the following section.
If a confidentiality agreement is signed, the supervisor/examiner ensures, cf. the Examination Order, that any associated oral examination is closed for audience.
Types of confidentiality agreements
Types of confidentiality agreements
A confidentiality agreement can be drawn up between the company/organisation, AU, and the student in order to comply with the requirements of the Examination Order, if the company/organisation requires it.
As a general rule, AU's standard confidentiality agreement should be used, but in some cases, it may be necessary to use a company-specific confidentiality agreement.
If a confidentiality agreement is required, it is the student's responsibility to ensure it is finalised and signed well ahead of the assignment submission deadline.
Standard Confidentiality Agreement
Standard confidentiality agreement can be found here (the one at the bottom of the page, called "Student project and internship").
The following procedure applies when the standard confidentiality agreement is used:
- The student must ensure that the agreement is signed by:
- The student
- The company
- The student must then send the standard confidentiality agreement (from their AU-mail) to the supervisor to sign - this is to confirm that the supervisor is aware of the agreement.
- When all signatures are in place, the supervisor sends the agreement to the relevant head of studies/departmental programme coordinator for signing (see below).
- Once everyone has signed the confidentiality agreement, the relevant director of studies must send an electronic copy of the fully signed agreement to the student via their AU email. The director of studies adds [email protected] (Technology Transfer Office, ‘TTO’) cc on the email to the student for filing and storing (with reference to any file number).
Please note that if changes are made to the standard confidentiality agreement, the agreement must be approved by TTO. This will often result in the process of entering a special confidentiality agreement, taking significantly longer than when the standard confidentiality agreement is used. It is therefore encouraged to use the standard confidentiality agreement as often as possible.
Company-specific Confidentiality Agreement
If a company requires a specific non-disclosure agreement, a company-specific confidentiality agreement can be used instead. This agreement must be approved by TTO (Technology Transfer Office; [email protected]) on behalf of the university.
The following procedure applies when the company-specific confidentiality agreement is used:
- Students must make the supervisor aware that they are using another agreement than the standard confidentiality agreement.
- The supervisor must send the agreement to TTO for negotiation/approval on behalf of AU.
- When the agreement has been approved by TTO, the student must ensure that the agreement is signed by:
- The student
- The company
- The student then sends the the company-specific confidentiality agreement (from their AU-mail) to the supervisor to sign - this is to confirm that the supervisor is aware of the agreement.
- The supervisor must send the agreement to the relevant head of studies/departmental programme coordinator (or, if AU is surrendering intellectual property rights, the department head) for signing. This will be clear from the response from TTO.
- Once everyone has signed the confidentiality agreement, the relevant director of studies must send an electronic copy of the fully signed agreement to the student via their AU email. The director of studies adds [email protected] (Technology Transfer Office, ‘TTO’) cc on the email to the student for filing and storing (with reference to any file number).
It is important to emphasize that students must familiarise themselves with the content of the agreement – students must be the ones who complies with the agreement. If students need advice on the content of the agreement and/or need to negotiate the terms of the agreement, students must seek his/her own adviser. AU cannot advise students on any further details of the agreement, nor is able to negotiate on behalf of students.
Departmental Programme Coordinators
The following directors of studies/departmental programme coordinators may sign the confidentiality agreement ('Standard Confidentiality Agreement' and 'Company-specific Confidentiality Agreement' where no rights are surrendered):
MSc in Economics and Business Administration, MSc in Business Administration and Auditing, and MSc in Business Administration with supplementary subject/Soc:
- Lars Esbjerg: MSc in Economics and Business Administration, and MSc in Business Administration with supplementary subject/Soc
- Frank Thinggaard: MSc in Business Administration and Auditing
BSc in Economics and Business Administration/Business Administration with supplementary subject:
- Charlotte Christiansen: BSc in Economics and Business Administration/Business Administration with supplementary subject
- Inger Mørch Hauge: BSc in Economics and Business Administration (Herning)
