During their master's project, students investigate an advanced technical-scientific problem related to a specific research question. The students will choose a project which can vary from scientific research to the realization of a design, simulation, and optimization within a research question oriented in civil/road engineering. Although the main goal to have exchange students is to perform their studies in a Civil/road engineering research group at the University of Antwerp, there are possibilities to carry out the master's thesis in a company depending on the availability of projects and mentors.
The student will perform their tasks under the supervision of a mentor (project proposer). During this course, students should be able to gather, arrange, and process scientific information on an individual and purposeful basis. They will learn to analyze an extensive engineering problem based on their scientific and technological knowledge. The students should creatively plan and execute an investigation on an individual and punctual basis while selecting the appropriate methods learned through their bachelor and master years. The data generation, their meaningful interpretation, and the reliability of the results with a critical and analytical attitude are the main core of this study. During their project, students will acquire sufficient knowledge to write a report efficiently in which the necessary attention should be given to aspects such as a literary investigation, experiments/designs/simulations, and the critical analysis of the results and conclusion. They should communicate appropriately about their investigation and solutions to the problems and should also be able to present these in a scientifically grounded way.
The student should be able to position their research and education within an international context. At the end of the project, the students, by presenting their findings and technical knowledge in a logical and structured way, should deliver an English paper that meets the scientific standards in terms of content and form. The student will be evaluated based on their paper and their oral presentation in front of a professional jury. The available projects are divided into three categories: