Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten im Ingenieurstudium

As a student at the TUM School of Engineering and Design, you will find a wide range of information and practical offers on scientific work and writing in engineering studies in the e-learning course E-Learning - Academic Research and Writing in Engineering. The aim of this course is to strengthen your skills in an academic context and prepare you optimally for your own academic projects, whether for a seminar paper, bachelor's thesis, master's thesis, or your future professional life.

Contents and objectives of this course

Scientific work is a process that must be learned and carried out step by step. This e-learning course is structured in exactly the same way. It is based on the typical phases of a scientific project:

• Characteristics and requirements of good scientific practice
  You will learn about the guidelines for ensuring good scientific practice at TUM and the quality standards that must be adhered to in your own scientific work.
• Structure and planning of scientific work and time management
  You will learn about the structure of scientific work in an engineering context (theses, seminar papers, and scientific papers). You will also learn about the different writing and work phases of a scientific paper and how to structure and realistically plan your time management accordingly. Writing an exposé helps you to structure the topic and specify research questions and methodology.
• Experiment planning and evaluation
  You will deal with the scientific basics of experiment planning and different types such as experiments, simulations, and construction. You will also reflect on ways of dealing with the collected data.
• Scientific writing in German and English
  These courses help you improve your scientific language skills and develop your arguments in writing. You will learn how to structure arguments, formulate hypotheses, refine your writing style, and avoid unconscious manipulation.
• Dealing with writer's block and work blockages
  You will learn how to deal with difficulties in the academic writing process. You will know how to overcome writer's block and work blockages or solve motivation problems, for example through the targeted use of creativity techniques.
• Literature management, literature research, citation
  You will receive an introduction to the correct citation of academic sources and expand your knowledge of successful literature research. You will also learn how to select suitable, high-quality literature and where to find it in the university library's holdings and databases.
• Presentation of research results
  In this section, you can develop your skills in presenting research results. The offerings include traditional presentations, pitches, and poster presentations.

Course structure

• Self-directed learning: The course has a modular structure, allowing you to work through the individual lessons and topics at your own pace. The learning content is accessible at any time, enabling you to manage your time individually. Schedule regular times to work through the material effectively.
• Interactive elements: Use the interactive exercises to consolidate and apply your knowledge. These are designed to help you integrate what you have learned directly into your own research work.
• Live elements: In addition, talks with experts offer in-depth insights into specific aspects of scientific work. In these interactive or live sessions, specialists share their experiences, give valuable tips, and answer questions from students.
• For mechanical engineering students: All relevant information on submitting your exposé can be found at the bottom of this section. Please make sure to adhere to the specific guidelines and deadlines.
• Feedback and support: If you have any questions or feedback, please contact zsk@ed.tum.de.

Registration

Registration takes place via the self-enrollment Moodle course E-Learning - Academic Research and Writing in Engineering or, for students of Mechanical Engineering, via the courses Scientific Work Basics/Advanced (ZSK) in the Bachelor's or Master's Thesis modules.

Exam performance Exposé in Mechanical Engineering

Here you will find all the information you need about the thesis proposal, as well as templates for bachelor's and master's theses. 

The thesis proposal serves as a planning tool for your thesis. Accordingly, you should write it during the first phase of your thesis, i.e., approximately four to six weeks after you begin. It should be at least six pages long and consist of continuous text. The tasks listed in the template are not required for submission, so feel free to delete them. The exposé can be written in German or English. In mechanical engineering programs, the exposé is the coursework for the module-accompanying seminar “Scientific Work,” and writing the exposé is mandatory for these programs (more information is available from your FPSO and the thesis module). 

Exposé submission for students with thesis Module numbers: MW 1265, MW 1266, ED 100016, ED 100023, ED 100027, ED 100031, ED 100035, ED 100039

Information on submission:

• The exposé must be submitted to your supervisor at the chair at the beginning of your work on the topic (approx. 4-6 weeks after registering your thesis).
• Have your exposé checked by your supervisor at the chair (usually a research assistant) (correctness of content, coverage of the topic, selection of appropriate research methods, and formal correctness) and signed.
• The documentation in the form of signatures from the student and staff member allows you to protect yourself and promote successful collaboration based on a common understanding of how to approach the topic. 
• The course performance is entered as pass/fail in the ED Portal by the chair's supervisor. It is a partial examination within the Bachelor's Thesis and Master's Thesis modules (see module descriptions). The 12 or 30 credits for the Bachelor's Thesis or Master's Thesis module are therefore awarded once the exposé, the scientific paper, and the presentation have been passed. Information for supervisors can be found here.