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
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Teachers
- Paula Veciana Botet
- Ernesto Morales Morales
- Jorge Andres Verdu Tirado
- Ricard Esparza Masana
- Antoni Morell Perez
- Jose Lopez Vicario
- Santiago Giraldo Luque
- Joaquín Rodriguez Alvarez
- Concepción Blázquez Giménez
- Montserrat Meneses Benitez
- Mireia Faucha Hernández
- Vidal Aragones Chicharro
- Juan Ramon Perez Tena
- Ignasi Marti Palet
- Guillem Marca Frances
- Luis Rodríguez Salgado
- Anna Fajula Payet
- Isabel Soria Rodriguez
- Josep Maria Basart Muñoz
- Carles Pedret Ferré
- Ismael Iván Blanco Fillola
- Hugo Valenzuela Garcia
- Andreu Turro Sol
- Ariadna Fito Frutos
- 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The TFM involves the carrying out of an unpublished academic work, of a theoretical and / or applied nature, in which the knowledge and skills acquired during the master's studies must be applied in an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.
Learning Outcomes
- CA21 (Competence) Generate questions and hypotheses in the face of new research challenges and demonstrate originality in the way you approach and solve problems (social and environmental).
- CA22 (Competence) Identify needs and new social realities that help transfer lessons to areas of development in your immediate environment.
- CA23 (Competence) Apply specific research methodology, techniques and resources to research and produce innovative results.
- KA08 (Knowledge) List the defining characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research.
- KA09 (Knowledge) Identify gender stereotypes and roles that appear in supervised work.
- SA14 (Skill) Select suitable information sources from scientific literature using the appropriate channels, then integrate this information using synthesis and debate skills and analyse viable alternatives.
- SA15 (Skill) Create qualitative and quantitative indicators to assess the performance and social value of entrepreneurial ideas and projects, as well as to assess the impact of public policies that have a social impact.
- SA16 (Skill) Analyse an issue, problem or challenge as part of the TFM report by providing answers and action guidelines for the players involved.
- SA17 (Skill) Communicate the results of your work and the rationale behind them to specialised and non-specialised audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
- SA18 (Skill) Produce a publishable document that complies with the Master's Dissertation regulations using specific knowledge necessary to carry out the research.
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 | |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Monitoring and follow-up of the process of structuring, writing and presenting the Master Thesis Dissertation | 32.75 | 1.31 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Completion of the work, elaboration of the written report and preparation of the oral presentation | 184 | 7.36 |
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.
The training activity provided by the Library (How to do a TFM?) will be taken into account when evaluating this module.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master Thesis Dissertation | 80% | 0 | 0 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA08, KA09, SA14, SA15, SA16, SA17, SA18 |
| Master's Thesis Defense | 20% | 0.5 | 0.02 | CA21, CA22, CA23, KA08, KA09, SA14, SA15, SA16, SA17, SA18 |
Bibliography
Specific details per Dissertation will be provided.
Software
Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and additional specific software depending on the type of TFM performed.