Session 49 Lightning talk: Changing MSc project dissertation format produces conference and journal papers (and improves student engagement)

Abstract

Session overview:

The School of Engineering used the traditional dissertation submission for the MSc Project, resulting in 80-100 pages. A couple of years ago the MSc Project Manager altered the required submission to a smaller document in the style of a journal paper - students were told 15-20 pages using the IEEE paper format.

The rationale was partially to give staff less material to mark (each lecturer had a lot of MSc students to supervise at the time) and partially to help students develop their skill in succinct writing. There was also the possibility that the change would provide material that might be turned into either conference or journal papers.

Most staff were in favour of the proposal, but as you might expect a couple were not that keen on change. A couple of years in and both staff and students are more than happy with the approach. To date we have produced two journal papers and six conference papers.

This possibility of being published is a clear incentive for the students who have certainly stepped up to the challenge of undertaking quality work. Of course, all those that are lucky to get a paper have a nice addition for their CV.

Since this ‘idea’ had worked, some MSc lecturing staff have altered their module assessment approach to create questions on topics suitable for small groups to work with an eye on the possibility of producing research outputs.

Key learning points from this session:

Adjusting the submission to a reduced format for the MSc project can have significant benefits for staff and students.

Changing MSc project dissertation format produces conference and journal papers (and improves student engagement) PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.