Course content

The students form a group and choose a project rooted in their study program. The department can suggest projects or student may find one on their own. A project must have an employer that is informed about the responsibilities of being an employer and formally signs an agreement to support the project and the students through the project period. Students studying abroad in the 5th semester is encouraged to find a bachelor group before traveling, and should communicate closely with their group members during the pre-project activities. Students may form cross-disciplinary groups/projects, but only after discussing the potential challenges and opportunities with the course responsible.

Learning outcome

After completing the course, the student will have acquired the following:

Knowledge

• design a problem statement
• new knowledge within a self-chosen part of their subject area comprehensive understanding of methodological work, including the ability to reflect and a systematic / scientific assessment
• knowledge of planning and performing an independent task, formulating problems and analyzing these based on both theoretical and empirical material and carrying out a task in a methodologically satisfactory manner
• knowledge of the UN's sustainability goals, as well as how own work can be assessed in light of these goals

Skills

• prepare and communicate specific issues of social interest within the subject area, under supervision
• identify and evaluate literature relevant to the issue, under supervision
• go in depth on limited issues and prepare concrete solution alternatives to the problem
• document and communicate the results of the project work in a systematic / scientific way
• make a precise delimitation and description of a larger work in collaboration with others
• document a systematically larger work as a report
• prepare and perform a visual / oral summary of a larger work in collaboration with others

General competence

General competence is, according to the National Agency for Quality in Education, NOKUT: "... to be able to apply knowledge and skills independently in different situations by showing the ability to cooperate, responsibility, ability to reflect and critical thinking in educational and professional contexts." . This summarizes in a good way what the students have been through in this bachelor 's project.

• through having shown independence, responsibility and ability to cooperate through having independently found / established a group of people with overlapping interests, developed, described, implemented, documented and presented this project
• by having shown the ability for reflection and critical thinking by having described the project's impact on society in the light of the UN's sustainability goals and thus awareness of the problem formulation and the work's consequences for the client, individuals and society

Learning methods and activities

This course is an independent project that is is done in group. The Department suggest groups of 2-4 students. 

The first mandatory delivery in the fall, is a listing of the group members, the employers name and contact person, s short informal description of the project topic and goals. The students may also request a named tutor, but the final decision with regards to the actual tutor, is taken by the department. 

The spring semester starts with tutoring and the delivery of a formal project outline, a formal contract with the employer signed by the department head in Gjøvik, the group and the employer. The students also deliver a project plan and an internal contract regulating the work within the group, and states how the group should handle risk factors in during the project period. 

The project have to document the work using relevant scientific methods in a report and this report, appendices and other digital deliveries is uploaded to the NTNU exam system before the project deadline.

The report have to include a chapter on the project effect goals where the students have to discuss what impact their project outcome has on people and the surrounding society. The students should use UNs sustainability goal as the foundation for this discussion.

All the participants in the group will have to participate in a visual/oral presentation of the work, before the semester ends, in front of an audience of internal and external sensors and others. The outcome of this presentation and the subsequent oral examination, can be used by the sensors to adjust the grade.

Compulsory assignments

• Group and project establishment
• Project outline and plan

Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

The students must have passed 100 ECTS credits from semester 1-4 within September 1st in the year the bachelor project starts before they are eligible for the bachelor course.

Course materials

Suggested literature:

• Aage Rognsaa, Bacheloroppgaven, Universitetsforlaget 2015
• Lotte Rienecker, Peter Stray Jørgensen, Den gode oppgaven, Fagbokforlaget, 2013