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Master's theses.

Requirements for acceptance

The focus of the master's thesis has to be in the area of “Integrated Quality Design”. Please review our website (research focus, research fields and research projects) to get acquainted with our research foci.

Furthermore, students applying for writing a master thesis at the Institute for Integrated Quality Design (IQD) have to fulfill the following requirements:

  • Students in the master program “General Management”: positive completion of a minimum of two (out of three) courses or seminars of the master challenge “Sustainability” (course numbers: 234.124, 234.006, 269.063); with a grade point average of maximum 2
  • Students in other master programs (e.g. Management in Polymer Technolgies, Management and Applied Economics): positive completion of a minimum of one course or seminar offered by the IQD (these are courses and seminars with the course numbers starting with 590.xxx) OR positive completion of a course or seminar of the master challenge “Sustainability” (course numbers: 234.124, 234.006, 269.063); with a grade point average of maximum 2 (students of Master in Polymer Technologies please see below “Joint Master Thesis Projects at the JKU Institutes IPMT & IQD”)

In addition to the attendance of a course offered by the IQD, a master's thesis proposal (focus area, research question, method, outline, timeline) is developed in a guided process during the course 590.003 Master Thesis Seminar.

contact info

E-Mail

julia.schmitt@jku.at

Phone

+43 732 2468 5525

Application

A full application has to be submitted to the IQD in electronic format. The application has to include:
- a CV
- a letter of motivation
- a transcript of records
- in case of professional experience please also include references

A convincing letter of motivation and good grades (a grade point average of 2) are the main criteria for the acceptance of the application. The time frame for writing the thesis is formally 6 months after the Institute has accepted the thesis application.

Studierendengruppe beim Lernen im Science Park sitzend

Dual master thesis with paid internship:

The IQD regularly offers dual master theses with close corporate collaboration. In our dual master theses program you will have the opportunity to complete a paid internship at one of our practice partners for 3-6 months. During your internship you dive into the phenomenon under study in the real world and collect data on the ground. At the same time you receive support form IQD staff to develop your theoretical research question. After your internship you have additional time to analyse collected data and complete your thesis.

Master Management Polymer Technologies:

Joint Master Thesis Projects at the JKU Institutes IPMT & IQD

  • Students of the MSc studies “Management in Polymer Technologies” have the option to write a joint interdisciplinary master thesis with the two institutes IPMT and IQD. The advantage of writing an interdisciplinary master thesis is to work at the interface between polymer engineering and technology and business management for sustainability and circularity.
  • All information regarding requirements, procedure (including master thesis seminar and supervision) as well as formal registration and evaluation please find in the pdf below.

Possible master thesis topics for joint master thesis projects at IPMT & IQD:

Product bans, product requirements, extended producer responsibility, mandatory recycling quota, lacking standardization for recyclates; what is that all good for? Is there a common goal, a comprehensive/systematic approach in policy making (at EU level) regarding plastics? Are there specific national efforts in regulating plastics and if so, which could serve as best practice examples? Is the European plastic policy framework too fragmented/reactive? Why? Why not? Do we need a “plastics roadmap 2030/2050” and if so, how could it look like?

 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1516265440535&uri=COM:2018:28:FIN, opens an external URL in a new window

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/904/oj, opens an external URL in a new window

 

The mandatory recycling targets in the EU and its member states have recently been revised and extended together with a number of other regulatory initiatives concerning plastic products and wastes. How are these recycling rates actually calculated? What do we actually measure with them and are the metrics purposeful? What is their information content? Are they comparable (e.g. with indicators calculated on a national base)? To a degree possible and reasonable, try to reconstruct how the new recycling targets evolved. Who were the drivers and what were the intentions behind them? Who are the experts and what is the research process behind that? Is it random numbers or science-based facts? In view of lacking standards, inconsistent quality, and regulatory obstacles (food contact), where shall we put all that recycled plastic (into which markets and products)? What obstacles must be overcome to capture certain markets?

 

https://www.plasticseurope.org/de/resources/publications/1899-circular-economy-plastics-european-overview, opens an external URL in a new window

What can be achieved by deposit refund schemes? What cannot? For which product groups does this make sense? Assuming this works well for PET bottles and this is a best-practice model; what can we learn for other items and plastic types e.g. HDPE bottles, PP cups, flexible packaging? Which requirements need to be met for “meaningful” deposit schemes? Also work out what “meaningful” means.

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618339799, opens an external URL in a new window

Given Topics

  • Markus Leitner - Smart Enablers of Remanufacturing
  • Priya Kolli Sri Lakshmi - Digital Product Passport for the Circular Economy

 

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Johannes Kepler University Linz

Altenberger Straße 69

4040 Linz, Austria

Telephone +43 732 2468 0
Fax +43 732 2468 4929
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