Thesis Talks
All major research training projects are concluded with a Thesis Talk. This presentation constitutes a training in presenting original research work to a group of non-experts. All students are required to attend at least 7 Thesis Talks from their fellow students before their own Thesis Talk (10 Thesis Talks for students not following WORK).
The Thesis Talk consists of a 20-minute presentation of the research work performed during the major research project. Afterwards, the student should answer questions from the audience in a 5-minute discussion. The intended audience comprises the fellow master students, so the presenter should take care to adjust the level of the presentation to the audience. The Thesis Talk should not be the same as an internal presentation for the research group.
The aim of the thesis talk
The presenting student learns how to disseminate their research results to a broader audience.
Attending students obtain an overview of current research done by our master's students in LST and Chemistry.
Attendance of an independent jury at the Thesis Talks allows the Board of Examiners to monitor the equivalence and uniformity of the grading of research projects in different groups in the institute.
Procedure for planning a Thesis Talk
After approval of the final report by the supervisors, the student can start the process by submitting a form and their thesis via Brightspace. The following information is asked on the form:
personal information: student number, specialisation (Chem or LST)
title of the report
number of EC of the project
name of the main supervisor (member of staff, no PhD student! Usually the mentor)
name of the external supervisor, if applicable
name of the second reviewer (member of staff)
proof of attendance of Thesis Talks (combine scans, photos and/or screenshots into a single pdf file)
a proposal for the date of the presentation (all supervisors should be available)
This date should be at least 10 working days in the future. One Thesis Talk or colloquium can be scheduled each weekday at 15.15 except for July and August, then multiple talks a day can be scheduled at all times of the day. Check the calendar for available slots and potentially conflicting events. Students can also check availability or reserve a date before their thesis is final by sending an email to msc-coordinator@lic.leidenuniv.nl .
After the form is submitted, the student can upload their thesis (pdf format) via the hand-in point on Brightspace.
The student finds a second reviewer with knowledge of the project. This person needs to be present at the thesis talk.
Students following the WORK programme can only request a thesis talk after the WORK 3 assignment has been uploaded. The request form will not be visible if no WORK 3 assignment has been uploaded.
A jury will be organised by the education team. The Thesis Talk is announced on this website and a confirmation is sent to the student and supervisors.
The main supervisor should make sure the research project evaluation is filled in before the presentation using the online grading system.
Some presentations may be hosted online in the dedicated Kaltura Live Room. The link is provided on the master's Brightspace environment.
After the presentation, the supervisors discuss the proposed grade with the second reviewer and jury and decide on a final grade. The second reviewer and jury use the oral presentation rubric to help determine a grade and give feedback on the presentation performance. Supervisors, second reviewer and jury sign the evaluation form via this website.
Practical points
The student is responsible for providing and testing suitable hardware for the online presentation equipment.
For embargoed research, the main supervisor must request an exemption from a public presentation of the Thesis Talk from the programme director.
Every MSc student is required to attend at least 7 Thesis Talks of fellow MSc students of the various research themes before their own Thesis Talk. An attendance list must be handed in before the major research project is graded. Online attendance can be proven with a screenshot of the Live Room at the beginning of the presentation, showing both the presenter's title slide and the student's own name in the participant list. On-campus attendance is confirmed by collecting a signature from a staff member present after the presentation.
