It was often observed that students lacked the skills to conduct independent scientific research that involves searching scientific articles in the scientific databases, understanding the findings, and presenting the findings in the form of a paper, poster, or a thesis. The research methods module was introduced to solve this problem.

As a part of this module, you will be taught the key principles of scientific work and how you should use them in your own work. Furthermore, you will also be taught how to write a holistic scientific paper that successfully incorporates all aspects of a paper from the abstract till the conclusion. Successful completion of this module is compulsory to finish your masters.

Using everything you learnt, you are expected to submit your own scientific review paper on a topic of your choice for the final examination. In addition to the review paper, you should also present your findings in the Advanced Manufacturing Students Conference as a presentation.

Advanced Manufacturing Students Conference

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Courses

1. Internship or Research Project
2. Language course
3. Elective course
4. Profile course

Semester Objectives

• Finish your internship or research project
• Finish all your courses
• Know exactly which field you want to work in the future
• Start looking for thesis topics in that field
• Acquire complementary skills like Python, Excel, etc.
• Can speak and understand simple German
• Register for the next semester

It is mandatory to complete 15 weeks of internship or research project during the course of your masters' studies.

Within this mandatory module, you must choose between an internship (in a company) or a research project (university). The precondition to start the internship or research project is to complete the Module 1.1 Mathematics for Engineering Sciences. You should contact the faculty's internship officer Ms. Diana Lohse concerning the official reporting and administrative issues.

An internship is offered by a company and the company usually pays you during the internship. In most cases, you must move to another city or a state for an internship. This implies you must search for a new residence and re-do the city registration process in that new city. In case you applied for an internship and the employer accepts you, you should immediately contact a professor from the university related to the field you want to do your internship in and ask him to be your supervisor. This is an extremely crucial step and should be done as soon as possible, in any case PRIOR TO THE START OF THE INTERNSHIP. Some companies ask for an internship certificate which can be downloaded here. A flowchart containing this process is given below.

- 1 -
Find a topic within a company - 2 -
Identify a department within TUC corresponding to that topic - 3 -
Request a Professor from that department to be your supervisor - 4 -
Work on the internship - 5 -
Write the report and send it to the professor - 6 -
30 min oral exam - 7 -
The supervisor sends the grade to the examination office - 8 -
Final Grade

There are many websites at your disposal which you can use to apply for internships like the TU Chemnitz Job Portal, VEMASinnovativ , AMZ Saxony and also other websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. To ensure you are successful in your search, you should keep your resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, etc, updated and ready well in advance before applying for a position. A hastily and poorly designed resume, cover letter and profile are one of the most common reasons for experiencing rejection. The TUC Career Service offers excellent advice ranging from building your resume, applying for an internship till transitioning from a student to a working professional. You should make use of this organization when you have any questions about the above-mentioned topics.

Alternatively, a research project can be done at TU Chemnitz. It has several advantages over the internship like not having the need to move to another city and the opportunity to do focused research work under a professor.

Topics for the Research Project are offered by every professor from the faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Topics that are suitable to work on are announced online, on noticeboards or you can also contact a professor directly and ask him/her for a topic. Therefore, it is your (the students') task to inquire about suitable topics.

It is advisable to include your CV and your transcript of records ("Leistungsübersicht") in your request.

In principle, also topics from Electrical Engineering or IT would be possible; in this case, please check back with Prof. Odenwald after a first contact with the prospective supervisor. This process is described in the flowchart below.

- 1 -
Choose your field of interest - 2 -
Identify a department within TUC corresponding to that topic - 3 -
Approach a professor from that department and request him to be your supervisor - 4 -
Receive project description from the professor - 5 -
Work on the research project - 6 -
Write the report and send it to the professor - 7 -
30 min oral exam - 8 -
The supervisor sends the grade to the examination office - 9 -
Final Grade

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Courses

1. Master Thesis

Semester Objectives

• Start looking for a full-time job
• Can hold conversations in German
• Have a clear idea on which field you want to work in the future

The master thesis is the culmination of all your studies in TU Chemnitz. It officially starts with the submission of an official document containing the topic and the signature of your supervisor, to the examination office. The examination office will then provide you with a submission date in accordance with the workload written in the master program study regulations. The prerequisite for submitting this document is completion of modules amounting to 85 LP.

Topics for the Master Thesis can be supervised by every professor of faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Suitable topics are announced in department-specific ways: online, on noticeboards or on request. Therefore, it is your (the students') task to inquire about a topic of your choice. We recommend browsing through the websites of the various professorships to get an idea about the field of their research activities. Then respond to (online)offers of your interest or kindly ask for suggestions from the specific professor if you found research areas that caught your attention. Or approach the professor with an outline of your own project idea. In this case, be flexible enough to respond to suggestions deviating from your original plans. In principle, also topics from Electrical Engineering or IT would be possible; in this case, please check back with Prof. Odenwald after a first contact with the prospective supervisor.

The master thesis can be done also with a company. If you intend to do so, you need to start searching for it well in advance to prevent any delays with your studies. An important thing you need to keep in mind is to ask the company if your research work can be published as a thesis. This needs to be clarified before signing the contract. Furthermore, like an internship, you must contact a professor from the university and ask him to be your supervisor as soon as you receive the offer to do the thesis with a company and BEFORE SIGNING ANY CONTRACT.

This process has been detailed in the flowchart below.

- 1 -
Choose your field of interest - 2 -
Identify a department within TUC corresponding to that field - 3 -
Approach a professor from that department and request him to be your supervisor - 4 -
Receive project description from the professor - 5 -
Register at the examination office - 6 -
Work on the thesis - 7 -
Regular supervising meetings - 8 -
45 min presentation and defense of thesis - 9 -
The Professor sends the grade to the examination office - 10 -
Final Grade for thesis / Final Grade for presentation and defense

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You will soon be able to find an overview of the Master's theses in the degree programme here.