In-Company Project – Master of Science in Engineering Projects with and in companies

The In-Company Project is placed on the 3. Semester as an elective of the MSc Engineering programs.

At SDU, this semester often begins on September 1st, although some study programmes begin February 1st.
This elective is an individual study activity and therefore, contains requirements for learning at a level corresponding to participating in planned teaching courses at the university. Students must acquire new knowledge in which they can, after the project, be examined in.
The project corresponds to 15 ECTS /  halftime in one semester. It is often carried out as a sole project.

Company requirements

For an In-Company Project to be approved, the student must have a workplace or facilities in the company available 2 days a week for 15 weeks. Likewise, the company must have a company supervisor available to the student. The supervisor must have an appropriate academic education to provide the necessary guidance for the student.
As a rule, the company must be situated in Denmark, as the student have to follow the lessons while concurrently carrying out the project in the company.
Companies situated outside Denmark, can in rare cases get approved, if the company is situated nearby a university offering courses corresponding to the mandatory courses at SDU.

The agreement must be approved by the Academic Study Board before starting the In-Company Project. The student applies  via spoc.sdu.dk. 

Project on a high academic level

The content of the project must be approved by the Study Board prior to initiation and must contain the following elements:

In a collaboration between company, student and SDU supervisor a project description is developed, which describes the problem/task to be solved in collaboration with the company. The project description must contain purpose or goals - gladly several - and include the methods which are to be implemented in the project.
The project description must culminate in an academic report, that contains both a well-defined problem and literature review and demonstrates the student's ability to describe and explain theory and methods implemented in the project.

The In-company Project is unpaid and not an employment.

A subsequent agreement of a minor acknowledgment is allowed. The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science writes the following: Recognition is not granted as a pre-determined income, which you can expect to receive in the same way as salary. It is voluntary for the company whether it will provide a gratuity. The amount may not be higher than the equivalent of up to DKK 3,000 per month.

Other contracts

In addition to the project description, the company can enter a supplementary NDA (= confidentiality clause) if there is a need to establish more detailed rules regarding the framework of the project, including confidentiality and rights, between the company and the student.

NB: All SDU employees, including supervisors and coordinators, are subjected to a duty of confidentiality, cf. the Public Administration Act. Thus, there is very rarely a need for a confidentiality clause to also include SDU.

Where do students and company find each other?

Events: Twice a year, The Faculty of Engineering host the events of SDU Internship and Project Day in Odense and Student Collaboration Day in Sønderborg, where students and companies can meet each other.
SDU Jobbank: We use SDU Jobbank as a platform for posting both study-related collaboration and jobs. Project postings are free and have full visibility for up to 365 days.
We have developed several guidelines to ensure that the notices hit the right engineering profiles.
Link to the instructions here.

The students look for a project from approx. 6 months before start-up - sometimes earlier. Notices can advantageously be posted online 4-6 months before the start of the project.

NOTE! If you do not have a specific project notice, but would like to see unsolicited inquiries, we recommend placing a notice in SDU Jobbank with this message. Be clear about which disciplines you would like to receive inquiries from.

What, When and How?

• Describe the project and post on SDU Jobbank or attend one of the our events.
• Call the student for an interview.
• The chosen student start setting up a project description from given information and contacts a supervisor at SDU.
• The supervisor at SDU approves the company supervisor
• In a collaboration between company, student and SDU supervisor a project description is developed
• The student gets the project description approved by the Academic Study Board ( via spoc.sdu.dk) . It is recommended to apply in June or December. In case of rejection approval can be applied for again in august and January, in order to start the project on September 1st or February 1st
• When approved the project starts on September 1st or February 1st
• The student prepare an academic report as foundation for later examination

Usefull links

(Danish) Overview of all MSc in Eng. Programmes at SDU:
https://www.sdu.dk/da/om_sdu/fakulteterne/teknik/uddannelse/kandidat (link to danish page  -choose education and then change language to have all studies present)

(Danish) Head of studies of all MSc in Eng. Programmes at SDU:
Download folder

(Danish) Achknowledgement rules:
https://www.su.dk/su/om-su-til-videregaaende-uddannelser-universitet-journalist-laerer-mv/praktikophold-og-su/

Instructions to SDU Jobbank:
https://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/fakulteterne/teknik/samarbejde/studerende/opslagtilstuderende-projektogpraktik

Events, where to meet the engineering students:
Events