The thesis project, which comprise 5 CP of work (125 hours), is aimed at applying and expanding the knowledge acquired by the student in the study program and at further developing the student’s planning and project development skills. To this aim, the thesis project consists of:

• A research project conducted autonomously by the student under the supervision of a professor/researcher.
• A written thesis report about the research project.
• A final defense (i.e., oral presentation and discussion) in front of a Thesis Commission.

The student should approach a professor or researcher teaching in the study program to propose a (preliminary) thesis idea and ask for her/his availability to be her/his supervisor. The supervisor could be a member of the Faculty of Engineering or of the Faculty of Economics and Management. To choose a fitting topic and supervisor, the student is invited to explore this dedicated team. The student should consider the match between her/his research idea or a practical problem s/he addresses in her/his internship and the research interests of the professors/researchers and/or the subjects they teach. In some cases, professors/researchers could also have some ongoing research projects in which students could collaborate; if any, these research projects are advertised by the professors/researchers during lectures and provided in the repository.

Based on the student’s (preliminary) research idea and/or the supervisor’s ongoing projects, the precise topic and goal of the thesis project will be discussed and agreed with the supervisor. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the study program, alternative types of projects are possible.

• A thesis project with a focus on Informatics (e.g., a technical problem deriving from a company or addressed within an internship, a data-driven analysis and visualization task, an ICT application or a theoretical CS problem for which a solution is designed, developed and evaluated).
• A thesis project with a focus on Economics and Management (e.g., a project in which a particular firm or business area case study is considered, an economic/managerial issue is identified and investigated, and theoretical and practical implications are derived).
• A thesis project with an interdisciplinary perspective (e.g., a case study of a specific ICT scenario that is analyzed also from an economics/management perspective, or a firm/business area case study that is analyzed providing ICT/informatics solutions).

In all cases an empirical or theoretical approach can be adopted (e.g., design of an ICT solution to tackle a specific problem, systematic literature review on a selected topic, qualitative study of a firm/business area case study, brief quantitative study to test relatively simple hypotheses or to analyze a situation from a quantitative perspective). Thus, any of the different research methodologies from the Computer Science, Information Systems and Economics and Management fields are eligible for a thesis project within this degree course.

The thesis project provides the student the opportunity to enhance her/his knowledge and skills of investigation in a particular area. Moreover, the thesis report should demonstrate the student’s ability to: carry out an independent inquiry; define and execute a small research project by developing a research process and a methodology; organize the research findings and ensure that they are presented in a cogent and clear manner. In so doing, the student should prove her/his ability to apply the conceptual knowledge (in informatics, economics and management, or both) acquired during the degree course to solve a specific problem or address a case study, and to work autonomously. Indeed, the responsibility for choosing, defining and completing the thesis is ultimately in the hands of the student, while the supervisor has the role of providing valuable support and guidance throughout the thesis project. For this reason, students should demonstrate a proactive attitude in approaching their supervisor to get feedbacks and suggestions.

Layout and language

Length:

• The appropriate length obviously depends on the project content and the advice of the supervisor. Past theses report lengths were mostly within the range of 15 to 25 pages (6000/8000 words). Length per se is not a parameter considered in the evaluation.

Layout:

• Page format: A4.
• Formatting: single spaced, 10 pt. (in the style of LaTeX standard article 10 pt.), easily readable font (e.g., Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman).

Margin: normal.

Language:

• Thesis report: English, German or Italian.
• Thesis defense: English.

Coordinators

For any further information or academic guidance you may also contact the theses’ coordinator of the BSc in Informatics and Management of Digital Business: Prof. Markus Zanker (markus.zanker@unibz.it).

Centre for Academic Writing

If you need advice on writing a thesis proposal to be submitted to the potential supervisor, writing the thesis itself, or managing citations in the thesis report, you can use the services of the Centre for Academic Writing.
You can also book an appointment with an academic writing tutor and will receive individual assistance.