Event report Master Thesis Training
The Master Thesis Training (MTT) had the objective to give master's students from BUP participating universities the opportunity to meet and discuss scientific problems regarding their thesis with a focus on sustainability in an interdisciplinary, international, multicultural, and regional context. Each student was also given individual feedback on their master thesis from a supervisor from a participating university.
This was the first-ever MTT that the BUP has held. During the planning of the event, we took inspiration from the PhD training and focused on creating an interdisciplinary learning experience for the students. The MTT is aimed toward master's students at our participating universities but we also see it as an opportunity for the participating supervisors to learn and grow in their roles.
Evaluation of the event
The students all agreed that the MTT was helpful in terms of improving their thesis. Many of them truly appreciated the one-on-one time that they had with their supervisor. The possibility to discuss their thesis with students working within the same field was something else that was highly appreciated. The MTT was an event that helped many of the participating students to clarify and specify their research questions and focuses. Getting to present their work and listen to other master's students presenting their thesis was very helpful for the students.
Some of the students expressed that they would have wanted more time to discuss their work, as well as to ask and answer questions about their thesis. The event could also have been scheduled earlier during the semester according to some students, for others it came at the exact right time. Some students expressed that it could have been beneficial to be sorted into groups where everyone was at the same stage in the thesis work, as the progress level varied between the students.
- The students gave the event a 9/10 overall rating
- The supervisors gave the event a 9.75/10 overall rating
- All students thought that the event was helpful in terms of improving their thesis
- All supervisors were interested in being invited to future BUP events
- The students gave the communication with the BUP staff during the event a 9.7/10 overall rating
- The supervisors gave the communication with the BUP staff during the event a 10/10 overall rating
Voices from participants
Christina Lin - student
The MTT allowed me to discuss my ideas with students, lecturers and professors from similar as well as completely different disciplines. Through this diverse mix of participants I gained new perspectives on my thesis that I haven’t yet thought about. This really reminded me of how exciting interdisciplinary science can be!
The best part was simply to get thrown together with a group of like-minded people enjoying their research, so that both the seminars as well as the free time we spent together afterwards were really fun.
Farid Karimi - supervisor
The quality of scientific publications, including master theses, is crucial to my point of view. For a master thesis, the quality pertains to the design of the research, the style of writing, the structure of the thesis, and presents results in a scientific way. Interacting with students to discuss these issues in an interdisciplinary setting is very rewarding for me as well.
In addition, meeting motivated students is a good opportunity to identify talents for future research vacancies (i.e., PhD students) in my group. Last, Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is geopolitically crucial for the EU for various reasons. Having students from this region working on the same goal (i.e., developing scientific scholarship) in this critical time was promising indeed and sent the unity signal. Finally, the organisation was very good with a well-balanced programme.
Ghada Shaaban - student
The Master Thesis Training was a learning opportunity as well as the best environment to get inspired, and exchange ideas and theories. It allowed me to widen my knowledge about recent academic perspectives on sustainability in an interdisciplinary and intercultural setting.
The best part of the MTT was the positive atmosphere! Everyone was curious and engaged which pushes our work forward.
Images from the event
Some of the participants at the Master Thesis Training gathered outside Linneanum, an orangery from 1787, in the botanical gardens in Uppsala.
Photo: Emma Stockvall Carlsson
The students with similar research subjects were sorted into smaller groups where they got the opportunity to discuss their thesis together as well as with their supervisor.
Photo: Emma Stockvall Carlsson
Each master student had a one-on-one session with their supervisor.
Photo: Emma Stockvall Carlsson