Bachelor-company project

Good professional opportunities

In order to become a bachelor host, the firm (or organisation) must have a field of work and a professional environment where the student can solve tasks for the firm while carrying out their bachelor project within landscape architecture and/or urban planning.

An appropriate work experience placement would typically be placed within a municipal or state authority, a private drafting firm or an interest organisation which works in the areas of nature, recreation or planning. The work experience placement project can also be located in a consulting engineering firm or other firm/unit which works with issues of landscape management or planning.

The time period extends over 5 months of which the work experience placement lasts 4 months. The student typically uses half of the time to work on the tasks for the host, and the second half on the bachelor project itself. The student also participates in meetings with their academic advisor, a method seminar, holds a mid-term seminar and prepares for the final oral examination.

The student receives a state educational stipend (SU) during their internship period.

Matching the host and the student

The bachelor host is accepted following an individual assessment, where every effort is made to match the student’s wishes and the host’s possibilities. In order to be accepted as host, the firm/organisation must provide the student with a workspace and a computer.

At a meeting between the bachelor host, the student and the academic advisor, agreement is reached on mutual expectations as to how the student will take part in the tasks for the host and how the work on the bachelor project can be integrated into the work. The student and advisor then draft a contract for the bachelor project. The student’s work is then organized, in collaboration with the bachelor host.

The firm/organisation can choose to become a host for one or more students who carry out their project together or individually. The host can simply offer the work experience placement to all interested students or it can solicit applications from students, after which they are selected.

Contact and deadline

If you wish to become a bachelor project host, please contact a bachelor coordinator. Your firm/organisation will then be added to a list of hosts, and you will be asked to complete a form where you can suggest one or more relevant project topics. The contact information for the coordinators can be found in the right column on this page. It is a good idea to read more about the general conditions before adding your name to the list.

Purpose

The bachelor work experience placement has two goals: first, the student can become familiar with the work of landscape architecture as a profession; and second, the student can obtain a perspective on how the student internship fits with their studies.

As a host for a bachelor student, the firm or organization can keep up to date with the teaching milieu and educational developments in landscape architecture at the University of Copenhagen, and maintain the interest from future landscape architects.

Contact person and expectations

Before the work experience placement begins, the bachelor host selects one staff member at the workplace who acts as contact person and sparring partner for the student.

The host and the student then agree on the expectations for the work experience placement. This can take the form of agreements as to where and when the student must be present at the host firm, including meeting times, vacation time, etc. The agreement can also specify how the student obtains time to carry out their own academic work and at the same time participate in the work routines of the bachelor host.

The host must provide a computer for the student.

Contract

When the expectations, etc. are agreed upon, the student and advisor together draft and sign a contract detailing the project.

Advising to the student

The student receives primary advising from their academic advisor at the SCIENCE faculty, but it is expected that the host will follow the student’s project. To the extent that time permits, the bachelor host is encouraged to assist the student in their work with the bachelor project and set standards for the quality of the bachelor’s thesis.

Work experience placement, February to June

When you have agreed upon the cooperation, the academic advisor is brought in and all three of you start a dialogue. The professional goal of the project is discussed and if possible, the tasks are reviewed together. After the meeting, the student and advisor draft and sign a contract for the bachelor project. This occurs in January.

The work experience placement period begins in beginning of February and lasts until mid June. The student and the bachelor host agree on how the work with the bachelor project and the other work tasks should be carried out.

Integration with the everyday activities of the workplace

It is our experience that the student has the best internship experience when the topic for the bachelor project is anchored in the actual work tasks of the host, or relates itself to recurring professional issues that your firm must deal with.

The well-anchored project can be created, for example, by allowing the student to be loosely connected to a project team based in the host firm, and to assist in solving various tasks connected with this. Alternatively, the student can carry out a thematic study of a professional topic which is of direct interest to the host.

If the student works as part of a project group with a specific project, he or she must carry out an independent analysis of a theme or detailed analysis of a specific problem area in which he or she has been directly involved.

The student can also choose to use their sparring and discussions with colleagues at the host firm in order to carry out their own independent project. This project could consist, of a planning proposal for a given locality, which is often based on an existing program.

The bachelor report and workplace report

The bachelor project can consist of a written text or illustrative materials. It is often the case that it will be a combination of these. Regardless of which type of project document the student produces, he or she must provide an explanation for the choice of method and provide sources. There are no formal requirements for the length or extent of the project document.

The bachelor report must contain the following:

• Danish and English title and abstract
• The project’s language can be Danish or English, on agreement with the advisor. If the student is Norwegian- or Swedish-speaking, the project can be written in Norwegian or Swedish.
• The project objective (problem formulation or program), description of method, and list of sources used
• The project can consist of a report or as posters

Besides the bachelor report the student has to turn in a workplace report which describes the work experience placement period. The workplace report has to include 4-7 projects or assignments presented with plans, sections, and illustrations or similar. The report also has to include a summary, reflections and a description of his or her contributions to the projects/assignments. The workplace report must not exceed 20 A4 pages, of which the limit of assembled text is 5-10 A4 pages

Mid-term seminar

The student shall present her or his work with the bachelor project to her or his advisor at a mid-term seminar in April 2018. As host, you may elect to participate in the seminar. The mid-term seminar has the character of a mutual orientation where any outstanding issues and working methods are discussed and decisions made as to how the project can best be completed.

The internship concludes

The student must submit the bachelor report in beginning of June. The workplace report is due one week later. Between submission and exsamination in the end of June the student can finish up other ongoing tasks connected to the internship and prepare for the examination. The host and the student agree upon how the final weeks of the work experience placement are to be concluded.

The examination is public, and the host is therefore welcome to attend. However, we recommend that as host, you consult with the student if you desire to be present at the examination.

Contact with the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management

The contact will be primarily through the student. However, you can always contact the bachelor coordinators if you have questions or want to discuss issues concerning the bachelor internship project.

If you have any questions about the programme, please contact the bachelor coordinator at bachlark@ign.ku.dk