Projects : research and industry

During their second semester, first-year Masters students carry out a research project in a Grenoble research laboratory lasting a minimum of 5 months. At the end of the project, students make a written report and give a presentation on their project. The goal of this project is to give students the opportunity to learn about the research community and to study a particular field of information technology in depth.

In their second year, students complete professional training through a project that is spread out over several months. This project can be completed in three different ways:
  • Via Sandwich Course in the Computer Engineering program.
  • Via the standard Project in a company, offered in all programs.
  • Via Research Project in an academic or industrial research laboratory, offered in the second year of the MoSIG degree, the Operational Research, Combinatorics and Optimization (ROCO) degree and the Cybersecurity (CS) degree.
With the exception of the projects completed via Sandwich course, the project takes place in Semester 4 (or the second semester of the second year of the Master's degree), and is worth 24 to 27 ECTS depending on the degree. The project lasts at least 5 months long, is paid and requires an internship agreement between the university and the hosting body.

Research projects

Scientific projects in the academic or industrial research laboratories take place in Semester 4 (the second semester of the second year of the Master's degree). The project is counts for 27 ECTS. The individual research project is conducted at a local public or corporate research laboratory, under the supervision of the academic supervisor.

A scientific research project provides hands-on training in the process of scientific research. The project must address a well-defined problem situated within the context of an existing scientific community. By nature, the scientific research project should be conducted within a research laboratory, under the direct supervision of a qualified researchers (ie with a doctoral degree). Students are encouraged to perform their project in public research or at local research centers.

In the Masters research project, the student is expected to:
  1. Provide a clear definition of the problem and its scientific and technological context.
  2. Demonstrate mastery of the scientific literature related to the problem,
  3. Propose an original solution to the problem.
  4. Validate and/or evaluate this solution through an experiment and/or formal demonstrations.
 

These results are reported in a Masters research project report (sometimes called a Masters thesis) and defended in an oral project defense. The project will be evaluated on the basis of mastery of the scientific state of the art, depth of analysis and understanding of the problem, originality of the proposed solution, and quality of the validation or experimental performance evaluation. If successfully completed with a grade above 12, the Masters scientific research project demonstrates "Research Aptitude" and meets the formal requirements for admission to a Doctoral program.

The host research teams and examples from the internship are to be presented in dedicated submenus.

Projects in a company

Projects in a company can be carried out as a sandwich course in the Computer Engineering program or as a standard project in the other programs.

The Computer Engineering degree includes an internship or a sandwich course counting for 24 ECTS. Internships in companies take place from January to the end of August and the sandwich course takes place from September to the end of August. Click on the link for more information on Sandwich courses (in French).

The Complementary Skills in Computer Science degree includes a 5-month internship that takes place between the beginning of April and the end of September. It is worth 24 ECTS.

If the student is working in a company, the internship includes a technical section in computer science with software developpement.

The internship is more specific to the students’ studies in Computer Engineering - the work focuses on project management. Topics that cover all of the phases of the development life cycle are recommended. Students are asked to maintain a wider perspective on the management of the project regardless of the life cycle adopted. Their work can be part of an existing programming project, but can also be completed in relative autonomy, such as a proof of concept. This particular experience, as it is not a traditional engineering internship, is also a major advantage for students joining the workforce.
Published on  July 12, 2016
Updated on March 25, 2024