The research project is a flexible 12-week project to familiarise students with scientific working methods and provide in-depth insights into current research topics.
The research project/internship must be completed in a different group and supervised by a different professor than the master’s thesis!
The research project is conducted in one of the research groups at BSSE - the supervisor is a professor at BSSE.
Students contact the research group they are interested in directly to agree on a project and the start date. Usually, the contact person for research projects is a senior assistant or post-doc in the group.
In addition to the registration via myStudies (course unit number 636-0805-00L), the external page registration form must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the start.
Duration
The research project duration is 12 weeks full-time.
Students may voluntarily extend their stay in the research group. However, for reasons of fairness and comparability, the research project work and report, and consequently the assessment must only refer to the official allotted duration, i.e. the first 12 weeks. The exact dates of the official report period must be written on the first page of the report.
Taking individual classes parallel to the research project is possible upon agreement on a corresponding extension of the research project duration with the supervising professor.
Report & Assessment
A written report (approx. 10 pages) mandatory and is submitted to the supervising professor.
Details on the report are to be discussed and agreed upon with the supervising professor. There are no department specific rules or criteria regarding the written report. It is suggested to ask the supervising professor for a good sample report beforehand and afterwards for feedback to improve own writing skills for future reports/theses.
A signed Declaration of Originality is a component of every research project/master's thesis, semester paper, or other qualifying paper written during the course of studies (including the electronic versions) and must be submitted with the report.
The research project is an ungraded semester performance. A failed performance can only be repeated once.
External project
Students who wish to carry out the research project outside BSSE must find a BSSE professor to act as supervisor and assessor.
After organising with the external host institution and the D-BSSE supervisor, the project is registered as follows:
Submit the respective registration form and project description to the (forms can be found under Documents & Templates)
Upon confirmation by the student administration, register the project in myStudies, course unit number 636-0805-00L
After completion of the registration, in case of a project abroad, students may apply for a SEMP scholarship
The organisation of an external project lies within the student's responsibility and the project must be fully registered prior to the start date.
Students wishing to pursue an industry internship organise it independently. They are responsible for the timely organization and registration.
Students may complete an industry internship in a medical, bioinformatics, biotechnological or pharmaceutical company.
Students who wish to complete an industry internship must find a BSSE professor to act as supervisor and assessor.
Note
The organisation of an industry internship lies within the student's responsibility.
Completing an industry internship requires a work permit, to be obtained by the host company.
External institutions may request confidentiality agreements. Students are responsible for clarifying NDA/project agreement questions in advance and be aware that ETH professors may refuse to sign any agreement other than the standard ETH templates.
Further information is detailed on the BSSE intranet.
Duration
The industry internship duration is 12 weeks full-time.
Students may voluntarily extend the duration of the internship in agreement with the internship provider. However, for reasons of fairness and comparability, the internship work and report, and consequently the assessment must only refer to the official allotted duration, i.e. the first 12 weeks. The exact dates of the official report period must be written on the first page of the report.
Registration
After organising with the host company and the D-BSSE supervisor, register the industry internship on myStudies in section projects/papers/theses, and upload the one-page project description bearing the signature and stamp of your supervisor at the host company.
The organisation of an industry internship lies within the student's responsibility and the project must be fully registered prior to the start date.
Report & Assessment
A written report (approx. 10 pages) is mandatory and must be submitted to the supervising BSSE professor.
The report must include information on the company (e.g. industry, size, products, organisation, competitors), departments visited, activities performed as well as acquired skills and competencies. The report must provide sufficient information on the research performed and the results obtained that the supervising professor can assess the internship.
The report must be signed by a responsible person of the host company.
A signed Declaration of Originality is a component of every research project/master's thesis, semester paper, or other qualifying paper written during the course of studies (including the electronic versions) and must be submitted with the report.
The industry internship is an ungraded semester performance. A failed performance can only be repeated once.