FACULTE
INFORMATIQUE ET COMMUNICATIONS
SCHOOL
OF COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
Section
de Systèmes de Communication (SSC)
Section
d’Informatique (SIN)
Master
Thesis Project SIN & SSC
REGULATIONS
(for the attention of the students, EPFL professors and
companies/universities hosting graduating students)
GOAL OF THE MASTER
THESIS PROJECT
The master thesis
is a student project that implies analysis, conception and implementation work
with the purpose of proving the student’s ability to be an engineer.
When the master
thesis is done in a company, the student works on a project given by the company
itself. The person in charge of the company must ensure that the student is
allowed to do sufficient analysis and conception work to allow the EPFL professor
to evaluate the student’s engineering ability.
The master thesis
includes a written thesis and an oral defense which are both graded.
In Computer
Science (SIN), the master thesis is usually done during the third master
semester.
If the student
decides to do an internship (i.e. 6 months working experience outside of EPFL),
or if the student decides to do a specialization before his/her master thesis,
the thesis is postponed.
In Communication
Systems (SSC), the master thesis is usually done during the fourth master semester.
If the student decides to do an internship (i.e. 6 months working experience
outside of EPFL) the thesis is postponed.
The subject of the
master thesis can be suggested by:
1. The EPFL
2. The student
3. A company
4. Another
university
SUPERVISION
The master thesis
must be supervised by an EPFL professor who will be in charge of the followup and the assessment of the project. A scientific
assistant can also supervise the project with the approval of the Section
Director. A person will be responsible for the student’s supervision within the
company. This person will also be the contact person for the EPFL professor in charge.
Regulations
Master Thesis Project SIN & SSC - 2 –
LENGTH OF THE
PROJECT
SSC
The master thesis
should be done within 6 months, according to the study plan.
SIN
The master thesis
should be done within 4 or 6 months, according to the study plan. A 6 months period
is recommended for Master thesis done in the industry or in a nother
university.
STUDENTS’ STATUS
IN THE COMPANY
Although the
student remains registered as such at the EPFL, when he/she does his/her master
thesis in a company and is paid by the company, he/she is subject to the
company’s rules and regulations, i.e . salary, timetable, absence, confidentiality, etc.
The contractual
tie between the student and the company does not link the EPFL and the company.
ASSESSMENT
In order to
evaluate the student’s ability and the direction the project is taking, it is
important for the EPFL professor to be involved in the progression of the
project. The professor can ask the student to give an intermediary
presentation. If no presentation is requested, the student is responsible for
asking for it.
The EPFL professor
is allowed to re-orient the work that is being done, in agreement with the company,
in order to ensure that the project fulfills the Master thesis requirements
that prove the student’s ability to be an engineer.
The master thesis
includes a written report. The student must plan the necessary time to write this
report.
REPORT
The student must
write a report that contains the following items:
· The title
· The student’s
contact details (surname, first name, address)
· The name of the
EPFL laboratory, the name of the company or the name of the other
university in
which the master thesis is being done
· The name of the
responsible EPFL professor
· The results of the
thesis (analysis, conception and implementation)
The report must be
representative of the student’s work in order to be able to judge the student’s
ability to be an engineer. The project will be archived within the sections
and, in general, in the laboratory of the EPFL professor. The report must not
contain any confidential information, except in exceptional cases.
Regulations
Master Thesis Project SIN & SSC - 4 –
Annexe
1
PROCEDURE
Supervision
The
subject of the master thesis project is used to determine which EPFL professor
will supervise the project.
Role
of the EPFL professor
· He/she
validates the subject of the master thesis project by either signing the
“Master thesis-industry” form that the student has completed together with the
company or by signing the IS-Academia form.
· He/she
ensures the smooth progression of the master thesis project whether it takes
place in an EPFL laboratory, in a company or in another university.
· He/she
organizes an intermediary presentation of the project.
· He/she
evaluates the report of the master thesis project.
· He/she
organizes the oral defense of the master thesis
project by inviting an external expert. In general, the company contact person
is the external expert.
· He/she
gives a grade for the master thesis project
Role
of the student
· If
the master thesis project is going to be done at EPFL, the student gets the
approval of the EPFL professor who will follow him/her for the project and gets
the professor to sign the IS-Academia form.
· If
the master thesis project is going to be done in a company or another
university, the student must find an EPFL professor who will supervise the
project. The EPFL professor will be chosen according to the subject of the project.
· If
applicable, the students completes the “Master thesis – industry” form with the
company. The company will determine the subject of the project. This form must
be validated by the EPFL professor.
· The
student returns this form to the SIN or SSC section.
· If
the master thesis project is being done in a company or another university, the
student must confirm his/her arrival in the company or university and the start
of his/her master thesis project by sending an e-mail to the SIN or SSC
section.
· At
the end of the master thesis project, the student must hand in to the SIN or
SSC section 3 paper copies and 1 electronic copy of the master thesis project.
· The
student must prepare an oral defense of his/her
master thesis project.
Annexe
2
Official dates for
the master thesis projects
http://daawww.epfl.ch/daa/sac/pdf/Calac_05-06.pdf