Master’s thesis inquiries
The Innovation, Society & Public Policy (ISPP) research group welcomes inquiries for the supervision of Master’s theses in any of the existing projects as well as on other topics focusing on the intersection of innovation, society, and politics.
If you are interested in writing your Master thesis with us, please make sure to consider the following points before requesting a meeting:
- Our group is principally interested in the social and political questions surrounding technology, innovation, management, and economics. If you want to work with us, your thesis must include at least some component dedicated to these questions, even if you are conducting your thesis work at a company. If you are not interested in social and political questions, this group is not for you.
- It is strongly recommended that you have completed at least one course in the field of Science and Technology Studies at the STS department before commencing your thesis work.
- Please include in your e-mail a statement of your overall research interests (ideally a thesis abstract on the topic you wish to pursue, the literature and concepts you’d like to draw on, and some suggestions for empirical scope- max 2 pages). Please make sure to indicate how your ideas fit with the topics investigated by our group if not evident.
- Please also consider the opportunity to contribute to ongoing ISPP research projects through empirical and theoretical work. If your research interest fits into one of our projects, please mention that in your email.
- As a preparation for a productive first appointment with your prospective adviser, include in your email a brief summary of your research skills (research design, experience in data collection, qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis) as well as a CV, which states your educations trajectory and research-related experiences in and outside of academia.
- Please find out whether or not your program’s regulations allow you to write your master’s thesis with us. We may officially supervise theses at the STS department and the School of Management and potentially externally for other departments upon prior arrangement (for which you might need an official internal advisor from your own department). If you have any doubts about formalities, contact your student advisor or the registrar’s office first before talking to us.
- Please send an e-mail to Jenny Graner with any inquiries.
If your research interest is compatible with our group, you will then be asked to develop – in coordination with a group member – a thesis proposal that shows how you intend to work on the proposed topic (theoretical approach, hypotheses, research design, materials and methods).
Open thesis topics
In addition, some of our team members are interested in supervising the following topics:
We are currently looking for two students to write their master theses in the Regional Innovation Cultures project on the socio-political, cultural, and economic embedding of past and current EU Innovation Capitals and Capitals of Culture.
The theses will respectively investigate the process of the “iCapital” and the Capitals of Culture competition from the perspective of cities that have been selected in the past or are currently running as participants. Drawing on the analytical framework of regional innovation cultures and the lens of sociotechnical imaginaries, the research wants to investigate the simultaneous making of a city’s local innovation/creative alter on the one side, and the supra-national performance of a European innovation/creative agenda on the other. It is thus interested in understanding how innovation/creative culture imperatives are mobilized both for the process of Europeanization and the local translation of the respective cities. The theses will explore the hopes, expectations and disappointments attached to the innovation/creative culture label as important propellor for local and regional (structural) transformations and critically ask what it means for a city’s socioeconomic policy agenda and the local identity to be confronted with metrified and standardized evaluations of worthwhile innovation/creative culture, cross-city competition, and funding logics.
Requirements:
- You are part of the STS or RESET master’s program
- You have experience with qualitative research methods, including interviews and ethnography, and are willing to conduct fieldwork in the respective cities
- You have worked with MaxQDA or are willing to learn how to navigate the program
- Since some of the cities are located in Germany, understanding the German language is an advantage but not a requirement
We offer:
- Mentorship and guidance by two PhD members of the Regional Innovation Cultures team
- Collaboration with senior members of ISPP
- Openness towards your own research interests and creative research methods
Contact: cindy.rentrop@tum.de; nadine.osbild@tum.de
In September 2024, the German Industry Association (BDI) held their Innovation Festival “Scaling Solutions” and celebrated the launch of the Innovation Indicator 2024 report. The key message: Germany dropped in the innovation rankings – “Only if Germany becomes an innovation nation again, the #InnoNation, can we master the challenges ahead“. Consequently, the festival promoted the central concern: “How do we become an InnoNation, achieve important sustainability goals and strengthen our technological sovereignty?” This is the moment STS and critical innovation studies have many questions.
With the umbrella phrase “Scaling Solutions”, industry actors present their imaginary of innovation. Who are the considered winners and losers in this understanding of innovation, and how does it relate to scaling? Who is involved? What is the role of regions and nations vis-à-vis technological sectors? How is scalable innovation legitimized, negotiated, and positioned against broader narratives of scaling?
This master’s thesis is meant to analyze empirical material from the Innovation Festival “Scaling Solutions” and surrounding documents to respond to some of the mentioned questions or others; interviews are an option, too. The thesis should use qualitative social science methods to work with empirical data. (e.g. discourse analysis, thematic analysis). The analysis should be based on STS concepts. Broadly, the goal is to discuss the imaginary of scaling and innovation that is prevalent in German industry and promoted by events like the InnoNation Festival.
High level of proficiency in German is required.
Contact: manuel.jung@tum.de