Advice for the Preparation of a Bachelor/Master Thesis
At the institute, we supervise both bachelor's and master's theses as well as student research projects. In order to be able to write a thesis at our institute, it is useful, but not absolutely necessary, to take a course from our program before or at the same time. In principle, students of all faculties can write a thesis at the institute. However, in some cases there are regulations specific to the course of study that we cannot keep track of. Therefore, please note and check the registration requirements, processing time and submission formalities of the respective exam regulations of your study program on your own.
For all students writing their bachelor or master thesis at our institute, there is an obligatory bachelor or master seminar, which has mandatory attendance on three or six dates in the summer or winter semester, respectively. Regarding this mandatory attendance, no exceptions can be granted. Thus, the seminars are a crucial part of the supervision format at the institute. The great advantage for the students is that they do not work "isolated", but can inform themselves about the topics and approaches of other fellow students and exchange information, which also results in helpful synergies.
The dates for these seminars are announced well in advance on CAMPUS and on the website. You must register for these seminars on Campus.
You are at the end of your studies, therefore clear fields of interest and main topics should have already emerged that particularly motivate you. Based on this, you should inform yourself in detail on our websites about the research fields and publications of the chair team in advance.
The topic fields for the Bachelor/Master theses in the summer semester 2021:
| 1. |
Business model innovations in startups |
| 2. |
Digital startup and innovation events - What does a promising business model for innovation/startup events look like post-Corona? |
| 3. |
Technology commercialisation of emerging technologies with a technological focus on sustainability, digitization or biology |
| 4. |
Digital und physical Prototyping in disruptive times |
| 5. |
Use of makerspaces in the collaboration between university and industry |
| 6. |
How do we find new applications for existing technologies? Exploring the mechanisms behind technology exaptation |
| 7. |
How do new innovation ecosystems emerge around digital technologies? What is the role of startups and of established players? |
| 8. |
Awareness programs of doctoral students for entrepreneurship |
| 9. |
Entrepreneurial Mindset von Doktoranden |
| 10. |
Platform convergence and regulation: „Platform convergence: A comparison of the cases of Alphabet (Google), Amazon, and Facebook over time, and the ways the platforms are becoming more similar in terms of technology, business models etc.“ „The convergence of Chinese platforms: A comparison of the cases of Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent over time, and the ways the platforms are becoming more similar in terms of technology, business models etc.“ „Platform regulation: Comparing and contrasting the different governmental initiatives in different countries to regulate Google, Baidu, Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook, and Tencent.“ |
In addition to these suggested topics, you can also write your thesis in other areas. For this, please refer to the research focus and publications of the institute, which you can find here.
If you are interested in one of our published topics or if you have developed a topic yourself that fits our research field, then you can first apply to us using the application form further down on this page.
The upload of the exposé is the decisive criterion for deciding whether a thesis will be accepted at our institute. It must not exceed two pages (plus appendix), must be written in English, and must contain the following key points:
- working title
- research field
- research question
- brief outline of the state of literature
- methodology
- preliminary table of contents (attached)
- bibliography of literature used in the exposé (attached)
- your contact information (especially name, matriculation number, email address, and course of study).
After you have received a commitment from the Institute, please register through Campus and attend the seminar dates listed there. Also make sure to register your thesis with the examination office without delay.
The e-learning module "Introduction to Scientific Work" covers further useful detailed information and assistance. The module is offered in ILIAS and is mandatory. All contents must be dealt with in advance of the seminar and thus serve as a basic requirement for participation in the seminar.
Bachelor's/Master's theses must be written in English. This is because the academic discussion in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship defacto only takes place in English. In this respect, it is easier to write the papers in English instead of always having to translate them.
All papers must meet the citation standards of the APA (American Psychological Association). All information on this citation standard can be found HERE. Additionally, it is important that you always include the appropriate page number when citing. For the preparation of your paper we recommend the tool Mendeley or Citavi for literature management. The Stuttgart University Library, for example, supports you with the literature management program Citavi for scientific writing and literature management.
Please also note that the thesis must be preceded by a short abstract (max. 1/3 page). Beyond that, there are no further requirements for the structure of the thesis, but you should include the necessary information (type of thesis, name, address, and matriculation number) and include a signed affidavit (plagiarism regulation) at the end of the thesis. Here, too, you must independently follow any deviating regulations of your course of study.
We recommend submitting the printed copies in simple adhesive binding, as this is cheaper and easier.