Here you will find information about how to perform a Company Collaboration Project.
You can read about Company Collaboration Projects in your own degree programme in the information below and on the course page in the Course Catalogue.
Before starting the project, you must remember to make a contract for a Company Collaboration Project in The Contract Generator.
The contract must be approved by your supervisor at AU and by the head of degree programme or the course coordinator. Once the contract has been approved, an email with a copy will automatically be sent to the supervisor in the company.
If there is a need to enter a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or similar, it must be created separately from the contract in the Contract Generator. You can find information about confidentiality in business collaborations and AU’s standard confidentiality agreement here.
The Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (MBG) aims to strengthen collaboration between companies and students. MBG prioritises being an active partner in the private and public sectors and engaging in collaborations on education, technology development, and research projects. The department already has several years of experience collaborating with industry through so-called industrial PhD students and joint research projects.
The purpose of the industrial project is for you to gain practical knowledge and experience with theories and methods that you will be able to use when solving concrete tasks in a company or organisation working within the natural sciences. During the project period, you will also have the opportunity to develop your creativity, independence, and collaboration skills. In addition, you will gain experience of what it is like to work in a company.
University City 81
Building 1873, 219
8000 Aarhus C
[email protected] - Phone: +4520572372
https://kursuskatalog.au.dk/en/course/118087/
What | Who is responsible | When |
Find a company, a project, and an internal supervisor at AU who are willing to take part in the project | Student | Before the project starts |
Contact the project coordinator and provide the contact details of the project's external project supervisor and internal supervisor | Student | Befor the project starts |
Distribute the contract and inform the parties about who is responsible for what | Project coordinator | At project start |
Return the signed contract with the project and activity plan to the coordinator, who will forward it to the study board | Internal supervisor + student | Two weeks after project start |
The contract is approved by the study board and returned to the supervisor/student | Project coordinator | As soon as possible thereafter |
Submission of the project report to the supervisors and the course coordinator | Student | 15 January / 15 June |
Arrange the date and appoint an internal examiner for the oral examination | Project coordinator | January / June |
The first step is to contact a company where you would like to carry out your project. It is best to take the initiative yourself. Call the company you are interested in, explain the concept, and subsequently send them an email with a link to MBG’s website.
Another approach is to first contact a potential supervisor at AU - possibly someone who already has contact with the company where you would like to do your project. The course coordinator may be able to point you in the right direction if you inform them of your interests. Otherwise, you can look at the websites of the different sections to get a sense of which companies they collaborate with and the types of research projects they work on. Walk around and talk to potential supervisors who work in areas you find interesting.
You can read about the learning objectives in the course description.
Together with your internal and external supervisors, you must define a project that provides the following competencies:
collaborate in professional teams to solve clearly defined natural science tasks within given deadlines
independently acquire knowledge and apply it to practice-oriented natural science problems
reflect on the theoretical knowledge related to a given problem and on the knowledge produced by the student through work on a practical natural science problem
communicate acquired knowledge in a precise and comprehensible manner—both orally and in writing
reflect on the significance of the results for the company/organisation
reflect on one’s own work processes and collaboration skills
reflect on how competencies acquired during the degree programme are applied in a professional context and how experiences from the project are used in the further course of study
Requirements for the scope and format of the report can be found in the course description, where you will also find information about the oral examination.
The internal supervisor must ensure the necessary academic quality and learning during the project period by:
assisting the student in assessing suitable project companies and project supervisors
ensuring that the student—together with the project supervisor - formulates a project description that complies with the curriculum and course description, and that the associated timeline aligns with the project’s purpose, content, scope, and level
ensuring that the industrial project is planned in such a way that the student, throughout the project period, has the opportunity to reflect on the connection between experiences gained in the company and the student’s study programme
assisting the student in preparing the project description
assessing the report submitted at the end of the project period together with an internal examiner and in collaboration with the project company
acting as examiner at the oral examination