Visa resultat

Master thesis evaluation spring 2015, ARKX03

Preparation to start thesis work

1. Did you follow the master"s thesis preparation course ARK316 Leadership for the architectural professions? Did it help you prepare for your thesis work or how do you think the course could improve?

yes»		10		76%
no»		3		23%

Genomsnitt: 1.23

- I think the course shouldn´,t be graded other then pass or fail. The content is mainly about finding into the own process and organization of work, which I think is hard to be evaluated with grades, by anyone then myself» (yes)
- I did the course a long time before doing my thesis and therefore it didn"t help a lot. When I did it I didn"t think about my thesis yet, would have been a lot better if I did the course later. But there isn"t that much flexibility with courses.» (yes)
- The course helped me mainly find my interests and what could be my deeper focus for a master thesis. However, even though I had the structure almost ready, it took me much more time to actually formulate it. » (yes)
- Didn"t take that course. » (no)

Information

2. What is your opinion about the information and guidance before starting your thesis?

very good»		3		23%
good»		8		61%
bad»		2		15%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.92

- Kan absolut bli mycket tydligare. » (good)
- The information was good, though, it would have been good also to meet the tutor and examiner as planned before Christmas.» (good)
- It was nice to have students from the previous year presenting their work, but I would like more diversity to be inspired. » (good)
- Maja does a great job (and there really should be somebody else helping her), but otherwise the school was more confusing to me» (bad)

3. What is your opinion about the information regarding the different procedures from start to final public presentation?

very good»		2		15%
good»		7		53%
bad»		4		30%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 2.15

- We received a lot of information, which sometimes made it confusing. Dates for hand in, whom to send to, sometimes changed, and then it was a bit difficult to track which call was the correct.» (good)
- During the whole process many deathlines and events during the thesis process were constantly changing dates and requirements, which is confusing» (bad)
- Vi fick ofta information för sent och otydlig information. » (bad)
- again Maja did a great job, but the rest of the school was confused, often supervisors and examiners didn"t have the same information as students, also often dates were given very late» (bad)
- My grading is low, because we got no warning that the design should in some cases be finalised almost 1,5 month in advance from the final presentation date (counting that final seminars were held three weeks in advance of the public presentations and we should hand in the material one week earlier than the final seminar, it makes 4 weeks. And then we needed at least two weeks before that to prepare some final material for that hand in). This was the case for my master thesis of course, and I got no warning so I could speed up the analysis part and move on to the design part. » (bad)

4. What is your opinion about the information you have recieved, regarding the requirements of a master"s thesis?

very good»		2		15%
good»		8		61%
bad»		2		15%
very bad»		1		7%

Genomsnitt: 2.15

- Once we found them they were really good. Requirements should be super easy to find, which they were not.» (good)
- Mycket prat, framför allt i början om att exjobbet skall hålla forskningskvalitéer vilket enligt min åsikt är mycket ovanligt på A. Inte många tog detta på allvar. Det är heller ingenting vi blivit förberedda på tidigare i utbildningen. » (bad)
- The requirements differs so much between the examinators so it"s quite hard to know beforehand what the requirements will be.» (bad)
- The guidelines are good, but sometimes it felt like not even the supervisor and examiner had read them, also what kind of thesis one can write and will pass depends a lot on the examiner, almost like it is a personal opinion of one person» (very bad)

Thesis work, supervision and examination

5. One of the learning objectives for the master"s thesis is stated below. Has the objective been reached?

13 svarande

yes, it has been fulfilled»		11		84%
It has mostly been fulfilled»		2		15%
It has partly been fulfilled»		0		0%
no, it has not been fulfilled»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.15

- This sentence should have been said more clearly in the beginning (this might have been the case, but probably got lost between all the other information)» (yes, it has been fulfilled)
- Everything fulfilled except for the fact that the time framework was very often unclear. » (It has mostly been fulfilled)

6. One of the learning objectives for the master"s thesis is stated below. Has the objective been reached?

13 svarande

yes, it has been fulfilled»		8		61%
It has mostly been fulfilled»		5		38%
It has partly been fulfilled»		0		0%
no, it has not been fulfilled»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.38

- Focus in our thesis was a lot about the method and approach to evaluate different solutions for an exiting structure. In many ways regarding strategies and creating a basis for argumentation. Thus, the actual architectural/technical solution was a minor part of the project, which wasn"t elaborated that deep.» (It has mostly been fulfilled)
- This sentence should have been said more clearly in the beginning (this might have been the case, but probably got lost between all the other information)» (It has mostly been fulfilled)

7. One of the learning objectives for the master"s thesis is stated below. Has the objective been fulfilled?

13 svarande

yes, it has been fulfilled»		10		76%
It has mostly been fulfilled»		3		23%
It has partly been fulfilled»		0		0%
no, it has not been fulfilled»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.23

- Yes, but that depends on my interest in doing so.» (yes, it has been fulfilled)
- This sentence should have been said more clearly in the beginning (this might have been the case, but probably got lost between all the other information)» (yes, it has been fulfilled)

8. What is your opinion about the mid-term seminar?

very good»		8		61%
good»		4		30%
bad»		1		7%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.46

- Verkligen bra! Se till att bevara detta. Det var till stor hjälp.» (very good)
- Definately a good way to check the project and the process according to the time plan. And a good indicator as to what was needed to continue working on, and how to define th project even further.» (very good)
- Really helped us to adjust our process and get motivated for the second half. » (very good)
- It was useful to have to put all the material together for the first time. It would be good if it was clear how few time actually remains after the mid term to develop your thesis.» (very good)
- It was at a good time in the process and gave a good input, information about date came too late» (good)
- Difficult to explain the project at the time. The examinator didn"t know my subject at all and had difficulties in understanding and commenting on the project.» (bad)

9. What is your opinion about the mandatory critics from your student colleagues at the midterm seminar?

very good»		6		46%
good»		6		46%
bad»		1		7%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.61

- The presence of a fellow student as opponent seemt to have been appreciated by both the presenter and the invited person who"ll give critique afterwards. In many of the midterms that i have taken part of, it is the student opponent who sets the tone for the rest of the crit-session. This is usually very good for the wellbeing of the student who"ll present, and the following critique-giver/jury will have a smörgåsbord of points to continue discussing from. My 700 er standing is that the student opponents always reads their fellow material much more thoroughly than the invited guests who might have to read 4-5 students work.» (very good)
- Gave us a good opportunity to dig into our peers" processes. Feedback from other students is always good since we"re on the same track and going through the same procedure, although with different projects and processes, which gives an insight that enriches our own project.» (very good)
- The most constructive comments came from the student colleagues. » (good)
- I think you always get the same comments anyway, it might be good for some students, but if you are stressed it is just another thing to do and you can"t really focus on it anyway, it is better to have a reference group of students compare with» (bad)

10. What is your opinion about the final seminar (examination), and are you satisfied with the jury"s comments about your work?

very good»		5		38%
good»		8		61%
bad»		0		0%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.61

- We had a good discussion, it was inspirational and gave perspective to our arguments and views - very good. Our project managed to stir a debate, which from the beginning was intended. » (very good)
- They were quite in depth, it is remarkable that Emilio Brandao read actually everything and had comments on everything. Impressive!» (very good)
- De var nästan lite för snälla.» (good)
- I did pass, with conditiona. But I am not satisfied with the current layout. Since my thesis was large in volume (because of the complexity of the still very narrow subject) I noticed how uninformed the majority of the comments from my external guests were. In a few cases the comments were downright the opposite of what I had written. This issue could be counteracted by employing a more invested external jury that has the time to read ones own material more than in a rush, once, and perhaps lowering the amount of students with whom each jury member has to deal with.» (good)
- One of the jury members was a bit too focused on his own work and projects to stay focused on my work, but overall I really appreciate the choice of jury. I beleive the jury"s insights in my subject was very helpful for the examinator to give a good and fair judgement of my work.» (good)
- It was not a conversation, rather listening to their opinions. I would have been liked to be more involved in the discussion.» (good)
- Some were a bit irrelevant, but not in a very negative way.» (good)
- yes, I am satisfied, it was a nice discussion and I almost would have liked their input earlier in the process (but information about time and examiners was given very late)» (good)

11. What is your opinion about the tutoring from the supervisor?

very good»		8		61%
good»		4		30%
bad»		1		7%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.46

- We had a most engaged and positive tutor. Let us be free and didn"t try to impinge on our ideas. Manage to listen our ideas and reflect/give feedback in a way that let us be creative and self-acting.» (very good)
- It was great, truthfully interested in our work and its development. » (very good)
- I had a tutor at first who changed all of my (at the time) current ideas because he so badly wanted me to do what he wanted. I had planned my thesis very thoroughly in advance, as we should in the leadership course. This enfuriated my tutor. He showed up late every time and even missed a few of our preplanned meetings without any warning or circumstancial excuse. Very unprofessional in my opinion. When I had investigated things which he had not told me to do he was upset and dismissive and "punish" me by just inventing more tasks to do which he knew would lead absolutely nowhere. This was done because sometimes he told me to do things that were completely, I repeat, completely irrelevant to my topic (even if I had followed his path to 100% too). My fellow students who had been tutored by him before had told me about how not doing exactly as he pleases/or punishes can make him "cranky". What he would do on the next meeting was then to interrupt me when I tried to explain my work, never read the material, and trying to add emotions of guilt and anger to the situation. This bully mentality is so absurd that I recorded it and showed it to my peers. I really wish no student to have to go through the same experience as I did. I discourage every every future student of having him, just like my predecessors did with me. I should have heeded their advice. Luckily I later on got the best tutor one could possibly imagine. She is the only reason for why I won"t rate this entire experience as very bad.» (good)
- sometimes it was very good, but other days it wasn"t, mainly because my supervisor wasn"t informed about how a thesis should be, like what happens after the final seminar and so on» (good)
- En mycket trevlig handledare men det var tydligt att han hade alldeles för mycket att göra och därför inte hade tid att läsa in sig på arbetet inför handledningen. Det blev ett problem när arbetet till stor utsträckning var textbaserat. Handledningen blev främst ett tillfälle att "lämna rapport" och uppdatera handledaren på vad som hänt sedan sist utan att egentligen få så mycket konstruktiv feedback.» (bad)

12. What is your opinion about your examinor"s work to evaluate and give criteria for your thesis?

very good»		6		46%
good»		4		30%
bad»		3		23%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.76

- Strict and concise tutoring, mostly regarding formalities and theoretic framework. Very good complement to our supervisor.» (very good)
- I think it was very difficult for the examinator since she knew nothing about my field, and I didn"t deal with classic architecture. As a consequence the formal structure came very much in focus instead of the content. The jury was a very good help.» (bad)
- It is still not clear what the examiner"s role or duty is. But if that person is supposed to critically review and evaluate our work, than it never happened. » (bad)
- Not really heard any comments or feedback from her during the entire process of development. I am not sure she even read our material. From what I have heard in the intro lectures, I was also expecting some time with her in the end, but got no time at all. Other professors had said that the examiner"s role is to also pose the "difficult" questions that may occur later in the public presentation. Also, she was late responding to the emails. » (bad)

13. How did the tutor and examinor function together? How would you have liked their roles to have been?

14. Did you experience any discrimination during your master"s thesis work?

13 svarande

No, never»		12		92%
It happened»		1		7%
Sometimes»		0		0%
Very frequently»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.07

- No personal attacks but, my initial tutor would often disrespect me in conversations. He would often voice his ideas about my work as irrelevant and if it"d be relevant "somebody else is already doing a much better job at it". He would also not listen to my words, raise his voice, get emotional and interrupt me. I have never before faced this antagonism. » (It happened)

Exhibition, public presentation and the role of the censors

15. What is your opinion about the organization of the exhibition?

very good»		5		38%
good»		5		38%
bad»		2		15%
very bad»		1		7%

Genomsnitt: 1.92

- This was very fun. The conversation following this presentation was so refreshing and lifting. » (very good)
- THat this yera has got a strong focus on the inauguration and to value the thesis was a good grip that I definately think was a good one. Being the first year, it clearly can be taken even further and be improved (especially when it comes to reaching out to the public (if that is one of the aims of the exhibition), perhaps Chalmers could get some tips from HDK when it comes to that matter). The organisation leding up to the finalisation of the exhibition worked really well, and with great enthusiasm from especially Tabita.» (very good)
- I know everything was chaotic for the organizers of the exhibition due to different reasons, but from my point, as student, things worked quite well. The paneldebate didn"t work out at all. The moderator took to much space and didn"t keep the participants on the subject.» (good)
- the catalog system is way too complicated and the final copy haven"t been proof-read.» (good)
- In the MPDSD part we were given a little space in comparison with all other sectors, which in the end looked a bit akward. » (good)
- very unclear and a bit last minute, I understand it is hard to coordinate, but it felt confusing» (very bad)

16. What is your opinion about the presence of the censor at your presentation?

very good»		5		38%
good»		6		46%
bad»		1		7%
very bad»		1		7%

Genomsnitt: 1.84

- In my case it was a very positive experience. When I attended the public presentation of one of my friends and colleagues, the censor seem to have forgot their purpose being there and was just shooting down a really good and passed work with non-counterarguable subjective comments such as "there is no invention here", "I do not like it", "i think this is colonial architecture(implying it would be a sincerely bad thing).» (very good)
- It was interesting to hear the censors view, even though the censors don"t know the projects in depth, so sometimes gives unnecessary comments or wanders away from the subject. The presence of the censor does give a certain seriousness to the presentation which is good.» (very good)
- We were informed only minutes before our presentation started, that we getting another censor than planned. This censor showed an impressive ability to interpret our project and to get an understanding of our whole process, although having seen only our presentation and not being able to read our report/posters. This expert gave us very good thoughts and ideas on our topic and came with new insights, which we were really happy about.» (very good)
- it was a bit stressful, but okay, I didn"t like that the censor asked me in front of supervisor/examiner how it was working with them» (good)
- very useful points of view regarding the departments progress, but they did not appear to have very clear idea of their own role. I liked though that some censors were also expressing their opinions about the result of each thesis. » (good)
- It was´,t very clear, which knowledge the censors have about the project( only presentation? Or do they read the booklet/posters before?) and therefore hard to adjust the presentation or prepare for comments» (bad)
- They should read the booklet to evaluate and give critique of our work. If they only judge based on the presentation the students should know that so that the presentation can be adjusted to that.» (very bad)

17. What is your opinion about the value of the public presentation?

very good»		2		15%
good»		11		84%
bad»		0		0%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.84

- It gives the student the chance to fix themselves up if they"ve passed with conditions.» (very good)
- As I see it, the idea of the public presentation is for the thesis students to present their work to a wier audience than those who has followed it during the semester. It is a great way for students in lower years to be inspired. Therefore the marketing of the presentations should be done more explicitly. » (good)
- nice to be able to invite friends and family, but a bit stressful since you never know what the sensor will ask» (good)
- Too many presentations on the same time slot, so it make it impossible to attend really interesting theses. » (good)

18. What is your opinion about the administration and coordination of all the events from registration to final presentation?

very good»		4		30%
good»		3		23%
bad»		6		46%
very bad»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 2.15

- Maja. Maja. Maja! I"m her biggest fan. She does such an amazing job and is the perfect mediator between oh SO many parts. Keep her in the loop and everything else will be coordinated with super human efficiency. » (very good)
- It is a huge effort that Maja has put into the work of adminitration this process. Seemingly this task is a bit too much of a load, in order not to stress out such a resource, support is needed. Wonderful work of her being both administrator, coordinator and a shoulder to cry on. » (very good)
- late information, sometimes the day before.» (bad)
- Everything was late. A lot of people didn"t know where to send their work on the hand in day, most examinators vere quite well matched, but some not at all. Information was often a bit difficult to orient in. The examinators and sometimes tutors didn"t have the same information as the students. It was sometimes unclear who was supposed to do what. It is very good to have someone as Maja to ask though.» (bad)
- It was okay, but could have been better, the list with the deadlines was very confusing to read, easy to miss something» (bad)
- I got the impression that there was a lack of stuff to coordinate everything BUT, if so, we should be given much less promises in the first place about a perfect organisation in advance of the semester. More specifiacally, I was expecting deadlines that were seldom fulfilled by the administration (for example the assigning of tutor and examiner for each group, last minute changes and notifications, the final presentation date being unclear till the very end). At the same time, as a student I felt pressure to fulfill my own deadlines and a stress to not compromise the quality of my own work. » (bad)

Possible improvements

19. What should be preserved for the future?

20. What should be changed in the future?

21. What is your overall opinion of the master thesis work process?

Work environment: time planning

22. How many hours per week have you in average been engaged in your thesis work?

51-60 h/week»		4		30%
41-50 h/week»		6		46%
30-40 h/week»		3		23%
Less than 30 h/week»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.92

- Being enthused by your projects makes it difficult to let go of it sometimes. Results in some extra hours for the sake of caring.» (51-60 h/week)
- Det har varit en uttalad ambition att hålla ett jämnt arbetstempo under hela våren vilket varit mycket bra. Har heller inte arbetat på helger eller sena kvällar så ofta.» (41-50 h/week)
- My thesis was quite theoretical and the focus was on text. When writing I believe it is more about the quality of time and not quantity. The text and arguments won"t become better if one sits for 16 hours a day. So some days I did not produce as much and didn"t spend the hours. For me it"s more about the stringent mode.» (30-40 h/week)

Work environment: other side commitments during the course, eg employment, attended other course etc

23. Enter the approximate amount of hours per week that you worked during your studies or how many hours you have spent on other commitments (excluding leisure activities)

1-5 h/week»		5		45%
6-10 h/week»		5		45%
11-15 h/week»		0		0%
16-20 h/week»		1		9%
More than 20 h/week»		0		0%

Genomsnitt: 1.72

- There wasnt"t really any time for extra curricular activities. The few hours off the projects were spent in recreational ways.» (?)
- Bra att gå en annan kurs parallellt med exjobbet och få lägga tankarna på någonting annat ett tag. » (1-5 h/week)
- Made a 266sqm house on the side for the good money and the relaxation it brought. » (1-5 h/week)
- side work, but loosely connected to the master thesis.» (1-5 h/week)

24. If you have not felt well during the course due to stress-related reasons: Describe your problems briefly. Please suggest measures for improvement of the work environment.