Master's Programme in ICT Innovation
Thesis for EXIT students
A key component in your EIT Digital Master School Program is the integrated combination of a master's thesis (30 ECTS) and an internship (no extra ECTS, included in the master’s thesis credits). At Aalto University, we prefer not to talk about internship, but rather about master's thesis position in industry. The industry-based master's thesis is a core part of your education and crucial for awarding you the EIT Digital certificate.
On this page you'll find the programme-specific features related to ICT Innovation EXIT students of Aalto University. Please also see in MyCourses for more information about the thesis process at Aalto in general (topics, deadlines, submitting the thesis, templates etc.).
If you are an entry student at Aalto University, please follow these instructions.
EIT Digital Master School's information material about internship & Master's thesis is available in the . EIT Digital Guidelines on choosing your Final Degree Project can also be found below as an attachment (you need to be logged in). Please read the guidelines carefully and note especially that according to the guidelines:
- The internship shall be carried out at a non-university entity such as a company, research institute, incubator, or other non-university organisation.
- An internship cannot be carried out at a start-up company founded by yourself.
- The internship should be carried out within the European Union or in countries officially
associated with the EU educational and research projects and with a European
company/organization. - The Internship duration is minimum 10 weeks full-time.
- EIT Digital collects The Proof of Internship from students, which is evaluated as part of the eligibility check for the Graduation Ceremony. It is also one of the criteria to be met in order to receive the EIT Label certificate.
Students need to be very proactive in searching for thesis positions. We try to help and support you, but in the end, it is student's own responsibility to find a thesis position. Here are some tips:
- Look for EIT Digital tips for securing your internship under the tab in the online portal. EIT Digital also updates a list of
- Sign up to JobTeaser for positions and career events.
- Attend all the upcoming Career fairs, Talent Expo, Summer Job Day etc.
- Check open positions also from and .
- Use LinkedIn to look for companies & open positions and contact interesting companies directly.
- Ask your mentors for advice and attend all the mentoring events.
- Read the Job search guide or book a job search advising session with coaches and get advice on your job search process. In the job search guide you can find tips on how to succeed in building your CV, writing a cover letter or excelling in an interview.
- Check the previous master’s theses done at Aalto in Aalto’s publication archive .
It is necessary to draft a written contract for master's thesis, when an organization outside Aalto University is involved.
- The contract helps you become familiar with the issues you should agree with the organization for which you write your master's thesis.
- The contract is signed by the student and the organization. The university is not involved, and you do not need to return the contract 91ÇàÇà²Ý University. However, some countries require by law that the university is a party in internship agreements. If this is the case with your internship, please contact us immediately. The agreemend has to be reviewed by Aalto Legal team before the university can sign anything.
- The agreement about the master's thesis between the student and the university (supervisor) is the confirmation of master's thesis topic.
- The master’s thesis is a public document by law in Finland. All Aalto University graduates must publish their thesis in Aalto University archive. The material of the thesis must be chosen so that it does not include any information that could be classified as a business secret. The metadata and the abstract will be published in all cases. More information in .
- A master’s thesis being a public document means that it is accessible through a closed Aalto campus network or can be sent out in electronic format upon request. The so-called metadata (i.e. name of author, title of thesis, name of thesis supervisor and advisor, keywords) of each thesis is published in the . Additionally, all approved theses are archived in the . Full versions of the electronically archived theses can be accessed on certain computers at the Learning Center.
- With the student's permission, the full text of a thesis can be published on the internet. The options for different permissions are provided on the online application form for Evaluation and Approval of Master’s thesis. However, the student should keep in mind that the thesis is always a public document from the date of the committee meeting where it has been approved, and accessible soon after approval in the Learning Center as mentioned above.
- A patent application claiming priority to any results reported in the thesis must be filed before the date of that committee meeting.
- The PDF/A file of the thesis cannot be corrected or changed after the approved thesis has arrived in Aaltodoc. Consultation with the legal counsel of the Aalto University has contributed to this practice. However, the metadata of the thesis will be corrected according to the author’s wishes also after it has arrived in Aaltodoc. Errors in approved theses are corrected on an .
Instructions
See also:
When | What |
---|---|
Sep – Dec | Finding a thesis position. |
Dec – Jan | Finding a thesis topic and contacting your programme coordinator/head of major to agree on the thesis placement and finding a supervisor for your thesis. |
Jan – Feb | Start of the thesis position and writing of the master's thesis. Official thesis topic confirmation in MyStudies. |
End of May / beginning of June | (agreed with supervisor) well before submitting the final thesis. |
June – July |
|
August | Approval and grading of Master's thesis in the Degree Programme Committee, graduation. |
September | Graduation ceremony of Aalto University School of Science. |
November | EIT Digital Master School graduation ceremony, awarding of EIT Digital certificates. (Please note that in order to participate, all studies in both universities must be finished by the end of October (= thesis needs to submitted for approval in Aalto by the ). |
Good to know about the process
- Grades are translated and transferred according to the scaling table (available here) agreed in EIT Digital Master School cooperation agreements. Note that you cannot graduate from Aalto before we have received your complete official transcript of your entry university.
- Approval and grading of thesis and graduation are two separate processes applied for in different systems, but application deadlines are the same.
- The academic year at Aalto University is 1 August – 31 July. If you aim to graduate in July, consider the holiday seasons of the universities (e.g. Finland and Sweden are "closed" in July, Italy and Spain in August).
- If you graduate from Aalto after 31 July, you will be transferred 91ÇàÇà²Ý University’s local tuition fee and scholarship scheme. Aalto has no tuition fees for EU/EEA nationals. All non-EU/EEA students are encouraged to apply for a tuition fee waiver for the 5th semester of studies. This is with a separate form in April. Students concerned will be contacted individually.
- You must enrol as attending at Aalto for the autumn semester, if you do not graduate by 31 July of your exit year.
- If you graduate by the end of August, the student union fee can be refunded. Visit the Student Services or send an email (studentservices@aalto.fi) after graduation, and they will help you with the refund procedure. After the refund, you will lose the right to student benefits. You have a right to ask for refund only until the end of September.
- More information about Annual enrolment.
- To be able to attend the EIT Graduation ceremony with your own cohort, you must graduate from Aalto by the September deadline.
- If you need to extend your Finnish residence permit, the topic confirmation form should be submitted at the latest by the time you apply for the tuition fee waiver for the 5th semester. The application is sufficient, the topic does not have to be approved yet.
- School of Science students who finish 60 ECTS credits and complete their degree during the academic year (by 31 July) are eligible for the Dean’s incentive scholarship of 500 EUR (subject to annual decision).
As your exit university, Aalto is responsible for supervising and evaluating your master's thesis. The purpose of this step is to confirm that a professor at Aalto has agreed to be your supervisor, and your thesis topic and internship is approved.
- Contact your programme coordinator/head of major to agree on a thesis topic, supervisor, and integrating the thesis with the internship.
- Apply for thesis topic confirmation, supervisor, and advisor(s) at Aalto via MyStudies. Note the following:
- You must be enrolled as attending at Aalto when applying for topic confirmation.
- Your personal study plan (HOPS) must be up-to-date and approved in Sisu. Make sure your entry university has uploaded your transcript to Master School portal.
- Topic is the working title of your thesis and can differ from the final title, as long asthe subject matter is the same (i.e., you have not restarted your thesis from scratch with a different topic and data).
- Thesis supervisor = a faculty representative who ensures that the thesis meets all goals and requirements set by the university, and eventually, evaluates your thesis.
- Thesis advisor = an expert in the field of the thesis, usually from the company for which the thesis is written. Must hold at least a master’s degree. Can give advice on the content and writing of a thesis, but does not have a role in the approval process at Aalto University. The supervisor can also be your advisor.
- Neither the supervisor nor the advisor may be a relative of the student or biased in any other way.
- You need to reapply for topic confirmation ifyou start a new thesis with a different topic, or your supervisor changes. In both cases, contact your supervisor and ictinnovation@aalto.fi.
- Your supervisor approves the application within 4 weeks (note that holidays may extend the processing times).
- If there are any delays or problems in the process, it is important to discuss them frequently with your supervisor. Keep the supervisor and study coordinator informed about your progress.
Codes of majors and programme coordinators/head of majors for ICT Innovation
Name of major | Code of major | Programme coordinator / head of major |
---|---|---|
Autonomous Systems | ELEC3055 | Quan Zhou |
Autonomous Systems and Intelligent Robots | ELEC3071 | Quan Zhou |
Cloud and Network Infrastructures | ELEC3059 | Jukka Manner |
Data Science | SCI3115 | Wilhelmiina Hämäläinen |
Human-Computer Interaction and Design | SCI3020 | Mika P. Nieminen |
Before submitting your thesis:
- You must be enrolled as an attending student at Aalto for the current semester.
- Check that your personal study plan (HOPS) up-to-date and approved in Sisu.
- Make a of your thesis draft. The Turnitin similarity report is a summary of any similarities found between your text and comparison databases.
- Give a mandatory . Arrange the time and place for the presentation with your supervisor.
- Complete of your master's thesis. The abstract will serve as your maturity essay. Make sure that all basic information (e.g.,student, supervisor, advisor) is spelled correctly.
- Use the for your thesis. Please note that article format master's theses of appr. 10 pages are not accepted at Aalto.
- Convert the thesis to PDF/A-format. The only valid and acceptable versions are PDF/A-1a, -1b, -2a, and -2b.
- Check the and agree on a submission date with your supervisor.
Submit the final version of the thesis in PDF/A-format for evaluation, grading, and archiving in MyStudies.
- If you have completed all other studies except the thesis, you can request for graduation in Sisu with the same deadline as you submitted your thesis.
- You will receive a Turnitin similarity report of your final thesis and can view the report through MyStudies.
- Your supervisor will evaluate and grade your thesis. The school of your major determines which evaluation guidelines your supervisor follows:
- DSC, HCID:
- AUS, AUSIR & CNI: ELEC Guideline for Master's thesis evaluation
- Degree Programme Committee (DPC) approves master's theses in their meetings. Please check the DPC meeting schedule .
- Following the DPC meeting, you will receive an email to your aalto.fi email address containing the final grade, statement, and instructions on how to appeal the thesis grade decision. Your thesis will be archived in AaltoDoc.
- Approximately 1–2 weeks after the DPC meeting: If you requested graduation at the same time you submitted your thesis, the graduation will be registered in Sisu.
- After your thesis has been approved and your degree is registered in Sisu, you will receive an e-mail with information about graduation and receiving your degree certificate, a link to the TEK Graduate Survey, and an invitation to participate in the Graduation Party.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this procedure, or thesis and graduation process at Aalto University in general, please contact ictinnovation@aalto.fi.