Graduation & Company

Create a network within and outside TU Delft.

Your network within the university can be created by:

• Talking to your fellow students about their own network within TUDelft
• Talking to professors at TU Delft

Your network outside the university is equally important. It can be a bit hard to create your own network especially if you are not already familiar with the Dutch construction industry.

Therefore the following tips are suggested to create your own network:

• Go to business-related events that are organised quite frequently. To find out more up-to-date information about such events visit the websites of the study associations such as the following:
  • Study Association CME Dispuut
  • Gezelschapsvereniging Practische Studie
  • Delftse Bedrijvendagen
  • Civiele Bedrijvendagen
• Look at the repository to get an idea at which companies students did their thesis research before and are relevant to your own graduation topic
• Connecting to people from companies via LinkedIn. You can always visit the LinkedIn page of the CME Dispuut to look at it's sponsors and connect with CME alumni
• Contacting HR department of companies via LinkedIn or Email

A problem that students sometimes face when reaching out to companies is that they do not get a response back promptly. It is considered to send a gentle reminder when after a week.

Remember: There is no right or wrong way in approaching a company, but consider that it can take some time to get into contact with the right people in a company

Also, be prepared when you are reaching out to companies!

Write 1-2 A4’s with your idea in advance so time is not wasted as soon as you get a response back. The WHAT-WHY-HOW or PQRS (Problem, Question, Research method and Scientific relevance) of your research idea can be a great starting point.

This is a subjective issue and person dependent. But as a student you can take some things into account early in the process to prevent this from happening.

Be aware that the supervisor(s) for the company side has more on their plate apart from providing you with guidance on your research. For that reason, it is handy to plan and agree on your meetings early on within the graduation process. There is no predefined rule on the frequency, but you should usually aim for weekly meetings with your direct supervisor at the company.

Always keep your company supervisor(s) in the loop and inform them on your progress.

You should perhaps discuss the possibility of having more than 1 person in the company that could support on supervising you.

In the case it is still difficult to reach your supervisor(s) within the company, you should further inform your graduation committee at the university accordingly.

Data collecting and analysing are a major part of your thesis.

For your research you might need qualitative data obtained, for instance, from interviews. You might also need quantitative data obtained, for instance, from sensors.

It is important to consider in early stages of the process what kind of data you might need throughout your research. Of course this might change, but it is handy to have already thought about it in advance. You can then also discuss the necessary data you might need with the company supervisor(s) and see if they can provide you with the data. You might need HREC approval for your research for which you will require to have a data management plan. On the website of TU Delft you can find the necessary information on that.

Furthermore, in the early stages of the thesis you should discuss whether the company is able to share the necessary data and under which conditions. Please check the student portal of CEG for the latest version of the graduation agreement with a company regarding data policy. More information can be found here.

Be aware of the different agreements, check the website of the TU Delft and always ask questions to your first supervisor if you are in doubt.

It can occur that the company's expectations are not aligned with the requirements set by the TU Delft for an MSc. thesis project.  Often, companies have some kind of consultancy problem which they want a student to further research. However, for the TU Delft it is important that the research problem should have added value to the scientific world. For that reason, it is your responsibility as a student to keep all members of your thesis committee including your company supervisor in the loop. Give regular updates to the members of your committee and try to involve them as much as possible in the whole process.