Information on MSc Robotics for companies
Graduates of TU Delft’s MSc robotics have a diverse set of hard and soft skills, related to robotics. They are eager to perform internships and thesis projects with industry. For more details on the program, please refer to the other pages on the left. This page is intended to provide companies with additional information on participating in the MSc Robotics, and how to setup internships and thesis projects. The MSc Robotics is coordinated and taught by the Cognitive Robotics (CoR) department of the faculty of Mechanical Engineering of TU Delft. Internships and thesis projects for the MSc Robotics program will always require a supervisor (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor) from this department. Learn more about the available supervisors and their research topics here . Get your company involved with the MSc Robotics The MSc Robotics is eager to stay in contact with companies that may be future employers of our students. Here are several methods: Offer an internship or a graduation project to MSc Robotics students. See below for more information. Join the MSc Robotics company network by signing up a contact person for your company using this form . By signing up, we may email you to alert you when students are looking for new internship projects, share feedback from the Industrial Sounding Board, and announce other collaboration opportunities. We can also advertise your company website or contact person to our students looking for internship opportunities. Join the MSc Robotics “Industrial Sounding Board” , which consists of a group of engaged company representatives. The board meets twice a year with the coordinators of the MSc Robotics to receive updates and provide feedback on the MSc Robotics program from the industry perspective. Please contact the Master Robotics Coordinator ( Coordinator-MSc-RO@tudelft.nl ) if you want to know more. Contact Study Association “Asimov” , which is managed by a yearly renewed board of students, operating independently of (but with assistance by) the CoR department. Its mission is to support students on their journey to becoming successful and connected members of the robotics community. Asimov facilitates connections between students and industry by organizing events, invited presentations, and company visits. By engaging your company in Asimov’s activities, you can reach highly skilled students eager to launch their careers. Reach out to Asimov via their website, sa-asimov.nl , or email info@sa-asimov.nl . Internships and thesis projects Students can complete internships and research projects at companies and earn credits toward their study program. In the MSc Robotics program, these projects are designed for second-year students who have completed nearly all their first-year courses (60 EC) and therefore have a strong understanding of fundamental robotics technologies. Company projects should enable students to apply and expand their skills and knowledge in real-world settings. Our students can undertake two types of projects: internships and graduation thesis projects . From a company's perspective, both are often considered “student internships,” but from students’ perspective, they have different requirements, durations, and expectations. If you plan to offer a student project, it is important to decide upfront whether it should be advertised as an internship or a thesis project. Students may also do both. Please note that the contracts for both internships and graduations projects are regulated nationally by the Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL). UNL provides a standardized contract template that is mandatory for internships/graduation projects in companies based in the Netherlands and recommended for companies based outside of the Netherlands. For more information on UNL’s standardized contract, please visit the UNL website . The sections below provide links to the guidelines and UNL contract information for Internships and Thesis Projects at TU Delft. Internship (2.5 months, 15 EC) In their second year of the MSc Robotics program, many students opt to work as entry-level interns in a professional research, design, engineering, or production environment under the supervision of an expert. This can take place at a company, an academic institution, another external organization, or TU Delft. Duration The standard internship period is worth 15 EC credits, which equates to 2.5 months of full-time work. Internship projects with longer duration (3-6 months) could also be considered, though students would not receive additional EC credits for this. Time period The nominal time for performing Internship Projects is in Q1 of the academic year (September – November), though students may also start an internship at an earlier or later moment. Typically, students will start looking for internship opportunities during the final half of their first year (February – June). Defining a project Internship projects are proposed by companies without prior consultation with the university. Internships should have a well-defined scope suitable for MSc Robotics students and not be process-focused projects (performing routine tasks rather than a specific project). Finding an academic supervisor The student must find a scientific staff member from the Department of Cognitive Robotics (CoR) to act as their academic supervisor after an internship project is identified. An UNL internship agreement plus project description must be completed and signed by the student, the company supervisor, and the CoR supervisor before the internship begins. The CoR supervisor will check that the listed objectives and milestones are clear, realistic, and aligned with the robotics curriculum. Supervision During the internship, students work under the supervision of the company supervisor. The academic supervisor is typically not involved in daily activities. Deliverables At the end of the internship, students must write a short report explaining the motivation of the project, their approach, and the results they obtained. Additionally, the company supervisor will complete and sign a feedback form for the student. Both the report and the feedback form are submitted to the academic supervisor. Grading Students do not receive a grade for their internship; however, the CoR supervisor will verify that the internship provided a meaningful work experience related to robotics and will assign a "pass" or "fail" based on this assessment. Embargo The internship report will not be made publicly available. Further information: To advertise your Internship Project to our students, please send a description of the project in pdf to Coordinator-MSc-RO@tudelft.nl . If you are not sure what to include in the description, you can use this (optional) template . Mechanical Engineering student Internship Forms page describes the formal regulations on the UNL Internship agreements and formal project description (Annex 1). Robotics Internship / Research Assignment, course code RO57015 in the study guide. Thesis projects (9 months, 45 EC) All students complete the MSc robotics with a thesis. A thesis can also be performed at a company. The thesis work is the student’s individual masterpiece. Students have to dig deep into a research or development topic, show their theoretical knowledge and creativity, and generate new knowledge or develop a new design. They have regular meetings with their supervisor(s) and show their responsibility in work, writing, and time and project management. Duration Our thesis projects are divided into two parts. The first part is the Literature Study (10 EC, 7 to 8 weeks), and the second part is the Thesis Research (35 EC, 6-7 months) , totalling 45 EC which corresponds to 8 to 9 months of full-time work (including writing the thesis). Time period The nominal time for performing Thesis Projects is in Q2-Q4 of the academic year (November– June), though students may also start their thesis research at a different moment. Typically, students will start looking for internship opportunities during the end of their first year, or beginning of the second year (April– November). Defining a project Compared to the Internship Project, a Thesis Project involves more open-ended research and engineering. These projects typically address an R&D challenge at the company that requires new research because there is no ready-made solution. Students need to investigate the problem, review current knowledge, propose solutions, and test these solutions through experiments to gain new insights or create new designs. Successful thesis projects start with a scientific research question from the company, a basic understanding of current knowledge, and access to necessary company resources (e.g., relevant data, hardware, and dedicated daily supervisor). The initial Literature Study helps the student refine the research question and identify key papers before beginning the formal Thesis Research. Finding an academic supervisor An academic supervisor is required before the start of the Thesis Project. The company should ideally identify a suitable academic supervisor from the CoR department before advertising the project. The CoR supervisor should be an expert in the topic and ensure that the Thesis Project will provide sufficient academic challenge for the student to complete a thesis. By involving the academic supervisor from the start, it can be guaranteed that there is a supervisor willing to engage in this long-term collaboration, and that the advertised project will be of sufficient academic quality. Supervision Daily supervision during the project should be provided by a company supervisor. The academic supervisor will have additional meetings with the student (and daily supervisor), check the research plan and its execution and monitor the timely completion of the requirements for the Literature Study and Thesis Research. Deliverables For the Literature Study , students will write a short literature review and present their achievements in a public colloquium for other students at TU Delft. They will also need to attend ten student colloquia themselves. For the Thesis Research , students will have to write their research objectives, approach, experiments, and conclusions in a well-structured scientific thesis. Finally, they will defend their thesis both publicly and privately before a graduation committee. Grading Students receive separate grades for the Literature Study by their academic supervisor, and for the thesis work and overall process by the graduation committee. The daily supervisor from the company may also be involved in the grading. Embargo Once the thesis is completed, it must be uploaded to the TU Delft library and will become immediately publicly available unless an embargo of max. 2 years is requested during thesis submission. Please discuss expected embargos with the academic supervisor and student already before the start of the thesis project. Further information: Contact one of the staff members of the CoR department to discuss the topic of the project you have in mind. Mechanical Engineering student MSc Forms , see section Graduation at a company for information on UNL Internship agreements. Robotics Literature Study, course code RO57010-20 in the study guide. Robotics MSc Thesis, course code RO57035 in the study guide. Other interesting links Other company collaboration opportunities for TU Delft students: The Minor Robotics is open to all TU Delft BSc students Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Industrial Design Engineering with a strong interest in developing a robotic prototype. In the Joint Interdisciplinary Project (JIP) groups of students from diverse Master programs work together with companies in technical innovation ‘in the niche’ on a business case to create innovative impact. Other ways to identify relevant research communities at TU Delft: TU Delft Innovation & Impact Centre helps companies find collaborations at TU Delft. RoboHouse , a TU Delft field lab where companies, scientists and startups can develop and test new robotic & AI technologies. Yes!Delft provides an environment where tech startups with promising ideas grow into successful companies. TU Delft campus website provides an overview of company collaboration at the campus.
