Master thesis General information February 2, 2015

Project thesis

What is a project thesis? Based on the analysis of a complex management problem arising in a company or organization and linked to the area of specialization chosen by the student:  Diagnosis.  Detailed analysis.  Identification and possible implementation of concrete solutions. Relies on: scientific approach, theoretical research, critical analysis

Assessment After the first ten weeks in the company : the student submits and defends an internship report linked to the project-thesis ➞ 10 ECTS At the end of the academic year : the student submits and defends the final document ➞ 20 ECTS

Schedule of the project thesis (integrated internship) M1 M2 2 nd semester 1st semester Full-time presence in the company from mid- September till Christmas Research & choice of a thesis topic > supervision > definition of the topic 1 day/week in company from February till May Information on the various forms of theses 2nd semester

Key-moments M1: As of today, access to the « Project thesis » platform on (GTFE0014-1A) End of February a list of project thesis topics proposed by the school will be available Students research a possible topic Speed meeting on March 4, 2015 Final choice of a topic by May 4, 2015

Pilots of specialization areas For information, suggestions and final validation: Supply Chain Management : Y. ARDA Financial Engineering : G. HÜBNER Performance Management and Control : D. VAN CAILLIE Intrapreneurship: O. LISEIN

For additional information The Internship & Theses team will answer your questions on < 11 February from 12:00 (noon) to 1:00 pm (room 126) < 26 February from 12:00 (noon) to 1:00 pm (room 035)

Contacts Project thesis: Sophie Leruthoffice 105 (N1)  Brigitte Marechaloffice 105 (N1) 

Research thesis and internship

What is a research thesis ? It is a scientific text based on an original research topic linked with the area of specialization chosen by the student  clearly identified topic and question(s)  gathering and processing of relevant information following an appropriate method  personal answers to the questions written following the standards of a scientific documen t

What is a research thesis? Students must prove their capacity to : conceptualise, model a question in relation with the stakes of a problem; elaborate hypotheses; develop original answers and scientific arguments; write and defend a substantial document.

Assessment At the end of the academic year : submission and defense of the final paper. ➞ 20 ECTS

Internship If you choose for a research thesis… First 10 weeks of M2 are devoted to an internship in an organization (private, public, NGO) In Belgium or elsewhere On a topic related to your area of specialization Not (necessarily) linked to the thesis topic Limited scope, focused on practice

Internship Written report and oral defense More information to be found on NTE013 (Stages )

Schedule for the research thesis M1 2 nd semester Ten-week internship (may be linked with thesis topic) and submission of a distinct internship report - End of Q1 devoted to thesis Choice of a research topic and internship > supervision > approval of the topic Submission of thesis on the 3rd Tuesday of May Information on the various forms of theses 1 st semester M2

Key Moments  From now on, access to the « Research thesis » platform on (GTFE0014-1B)  Speed meeting on March 4, 2015  Final choice of a topic by May 4, 2015

Pilots of specialization areas For information, suggestions and final validation: Supply Chain Management : Y. ARDA Financial Engineering : G. HÜBNER Performance Management and Control : D. VAN CAILLIE Intrapreneurship: O. LISEIN

For more information The Internship & Theses teams will answer your questions on: < 11 February from 12:00 (noon) to 1:00 pm (local 126) < 26 February from 12:00 (noon) to 1:00 pm (local 035)

Contacts Research thesis Marie-Gabrielle Boxus office 157 (N1)  Françoise DuboisApparitorat (N1) 

Contacts Internships : Brigitte MARECHAL office 105 (N1) Pascale SLOCK office 224 (N1) 

Some past examples of research and project theses

Performance Management & Control Examples of research theses: theoretical analysis & validation through a case study – System of governance of an organization – Internal control procedures implemented in a high-tech firm – Design of the performance control system (dashboards and performance indicators) to be implemented in a research institute in order to facilitate project management

Performance Management & Control Examples of project theses : detailed analysis of a problem in a specific organizational context – Development and implementation of the system of governance of a university spin-off – Development and implementation of internal control procedures for a company in the food industry in view of its certification by a large distribution group – Development and implementation of a system of performance management (dashboards and performance indicators) in a hospital department

Supply chain management Examples of research theses: Development and test of an optimization model for the design of a European distribution network, motivated by the case of a multinational manufacturing company. Identification of trends in supplier selection procedures: company survey and analysis. Models and algorithms for variants of the vehicle routing problem. Models and algorithms for production planning with product returns.

Supply chain management Examples of project theses (case studies): Reverse logistics management in the fashion industry. Key success factors of cross-docking. Analysis and assessment of transportation planning procedures for a large trucking company. Improvement of personnel planning procedures at TNT Express.