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2022/2023

Master's Degree Dissertation

Code: 44435 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
4317522 Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation OB 0 2

Contact

Name:
Hugo Valenzuela Garcia
Email:
hugo.valenzuela@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Teachers

Paula Veciana Botet
Jordi Verdu Tirado
Ricard Esparza Masana
Antoni Morell Perez
Jose Lopez Vicario
Joaquín Rodriguez Alvarez
Montse Meneses Benitez
Luis Rodríguez Salgado
Rosa García Hernández
Ismael Iván Blanco Fillola
Hugo Valenzuela Garcia
Andreu Turro Sol
Anna Melendez Pereto

Prerequisites

This module has a multidisciplinary character. There is no prior specific knowledge requirement.

This module is only available to students of the Master in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The Master's Thesis Dissertation (TFM) is a fundamental element of the students' learning process. It allows the student to develop an individual research project independently (under the supervision of a tutor who may, or may not, be a professor teaching in the master) on a topic of the student’s choice in any field of research related to the contents of the Master. 

MEINS’s dissertation consists on a compulsory TFM of 9 ECTS, equivalent to 225 hours of work not necessarily autonomous in a context of professional master's degree.

The TFM involves the carrying out of an unpublished academic work, of a theoretical and / or applied nature, in which the knowledge and skills acquired during the master's studies must be applied in an integrated way. The multidisciplinary and transversal nature of both the MEINS and the academic profile of the students can lead to the realization of also innovative TFMs from the pedagogical point of view.

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apply the processes of basic design, formulation and implementation of a social entrepreneurship project in line with the regulatory framework governing startups and alternative types of non-profit entities.
  • Develop social transformation ideas and projects, relying on knowledge of legislation, public-sector social policies, data analysis, gender equity, the seeking of the common good and the creation and fair distribution of wealth.
  • Evaluate and design solutions for sex- and gender-based inequalities.
  • Identify and judge the quality of work done and use and create qualitative and quantitative indicators to assess the outcomes and social value of entrepreneurial ideas and projects, and to assess the impact of public-sector social policies.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Safeguard the economy of proximity and physical and digital public spaces, in accordance with the values of democracy and solidarity.
  • Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when engaging in academic and professional practice.
  • That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
  • That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
  • That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  2. Identify social needs and new situations that allow knowledge to be transferred to areas in the immediate environment.
  3. Identify the contributions of gender studies to the research topic and the project being carried out.
  4. Include in the Master's dissertation an analysis of the topic, problem or challenge giving solutions and orientations for the actions of those involved.
  5. Know how to carry out research and a social change project with a gender perspective.
  6. Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  7. Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  8. Participate in projects and case studies from a proactive position, using constructive criticism and interacting with the actors involved in the projects and studies.
  9. Produce, collect and interpret empirical data in a way that is gender-sensitive.
  10. Solve complex problems critically, creatively and innovatively in multidisciplinary contexts.
  11. Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
  12. Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when engaging in academic and professional practice.
  13. That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
  14. That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
  15. That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.

Content

Social transformation projects that may be of interest for the Master’s Dissertation (TFM) encompass different ideas and methodologies as follows:
1. Linked to the background of the different degrees and postgraduates followed by the students, taking into account that all students developed a Degree Dissertation -TFG- in his field of reference.
2. Linked to the initiatives and challenges that the different AAPP, companies, cooperatives, foundations, associations, mutual societies, and job placement companies may propose to the master’s students as part of their social development strategy. Such challenges may receive a qualified and multidisciplinary response through the Master’s TFMs.
3. Linked to the initiatives and challenges proposed by the university itself. Entrepreneurship and social innovation must be able to revert to the university. Therefore, the TFM can be linked to projects that can change the university itself (creating student service cooperatives, or developing projects connected to circular economy or bio-construction are examples of the possibilities that could be relevant for the different UAB campuses).

Methodology

The development of the TFM includes the following stages:
· Initial MEINS presentation session in which the students receive information on the global structure and objectives of the Master and the calendar regarding the elaboration of the Master Thesis Dissertation (TFM).
· Specific information session on the TFM, aimed at guiding students in their choice of topic and tutor.
· Although students will have begun to define their work beforehand, it is from the completion of the in-class modules when their dedication is specifically focused on carrying out external internships and the TFM.
Either a more traditional learning or an innovate learning process can be followed --in the sense of conceiving the TFM as a project in response to a social transformation challenge that the student wants to contribute solving.
Open innovation processes are based on collective intelligence and arise from the collaboration of several people. Therefore, if teams of students with different academic profiles gather together, a specific challenge can be tackled from different perspectives. In this way, beyond-standard possibilities may arise for resolving the challenges posed that a more traditional approach might not provide.
In the case of carrying out a joint TFM: from an academic point of view, each member of the team must defend her/his individual contribution to the joint project by writing and defending her/his own TFM, which is part of the team’s resolution of the challenge initially faced.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Directed work development 7.75 0.31 12, 1, 3, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 11, 14, 10, 5, 6
Type: Supervised      
Monitoring and follow-up of the process of structuring, writing and presenting the Master Thesis Dissertation 32.75 1.31 12, 1, 3, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 11, 14, 10, 5, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Completion of the work, elaboration of the written report and preparation of the oral presentation 184 7.36 12, 1, 3, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 11, 14, 10, 5, 6

Assessment

Each TFM will be evaluated by a panel of professors appointed by the MEINS coordination. The Master's Thesis defense takes place before this panel in a public act. Both the Master Thesis Dissertation and theoral defense will be evaluated by the panel.

Plagiarism or falsification of the Master's Thesis Dissertation will automatically entail a grade of zero, in addition to the application of UAB’s corresponding sanctioning measures. Plagiarism is not only equivalent to "copying" in the academic sense, but it is also a crime against intellectual property with potential legal consequences. The UAB has several applications to verify the originality of Master Thesis Dissertations.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Master Thesis Dissertation 80% 0 0 12, 1, 3, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 11, 14, 10, 5, 6
Master's Thesis Defense 20% 0.5 0.02 12, 1, 3, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 11, 14, 10, 5, 6

Bibliography

Specific details per Dissertation will be provided.

Software

Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and additional specific software depending on the type of TFM performed.