Information on individual educational components (ECTS-Course descriptions) per semester

Participating students are required to have an academic interest and the ability to work independently and ask questions. Selection is therefore based on a letter of application and an associated selection interview.

The prerequisite for attending this course is the willingness to carry out the project started in the summer semester over two semesters with 6 ECTS credits each and to continue it in the following winter semester. If the student is unsuccessful, the Contextual Studies will be continued in the winter semester outside the course.

The continuation of the research project as part of a Master's thesis is strived. The aim is to publish the research results in the form of a publication, a research report, a conference paper, a video or similar.

Due to the required prerequisites, students are not entitled to admission to the course.

Scheduling takes place with those responsible for the research project. 

Course costs: For any intended visits to scientific conferences, the travelling expenses or participation fees incurred will be borne by the students. 

Which of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is particularly promoted depends on the choice of task. 

Application of fundamental scientific research methods, state-of-the-art analysis, introduction to research design and research planning, applied research and development methods in the areas digitalization of production resources and processes, data analytics, artificial intelligence or collaborative systems.

General learning outcomes of research projects:

• Students produce a scientific paper by developing, independently working on and answering a research question.
• Students know the cornerstones and milestones of a research project (research question and objectives, theses, falsification, experiments, quality criteria, etc.).
• Depending on the research centre or group, students learn about different research methods - from qualitative/quantitative methods, understanding and operating programmes and production facilities to the use of specific IT tools, etc.
• Students can integrate relevant aspects of research ethics and data protection into research projects.
• Students can present research content in the context of team meetings, events or publications.
• Students know their expertise and passion for research and are aware of their next steps in deepening their research expertise, including PhD options.
• Students know elements of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Specific learning outcomes of research projects:

Students familiarise themselves with aspects of current research projects in the Digital Business Transformation Research Group.

The detailed, scientific learning outcomes are agreed and documented individually with the students before the start of the course as part of the formulation of their research questions.

Mobilisation: Students are given leeways to pick up own questions and approaches.

Actionability: Joint planning of an appropriate approach, outline of methods and readings needed. Specification of standards and requirements concerning the work result.

Performance: Specification of general requirements of the collaboration and the mode of behaviour which are necessary for an effective performance.

Supervision by researchers of the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences is provided by coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars, as well as by guided self-studies.

Achievement of objectives specified at the beginning of the project in relationship to the students previous knowledge. Documentation of learning outcomes and project results.

Public presentation.

The course constitutes "Research Project: Digital Factory" in the winter semester is the continuation of the course of the same name from the summer semester. 

Bauernhansl, Thomas ; Hompel, Michael ten ; Vogel-Heuser, Birgit (2014): Industrie 4.0 in Produktion, Automatisierung und Logistik: Anwendung · Technologien · Migration. 2014. Aufl. Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg. 

Reinhart, Gunther (2017): Handbuch Industrie 4.0: Geschäftsmodelle, Prozesse, Technik. Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 

Roth, Armin (2016): Einführung und Umsetzung von Industrie 4.0: Grundlagen, Vorgehensmodell und Use Cases aus der Praxis. SpringerGabler.

Ronzhin, Andrey, Rigoll, Gerhard, Meshcheryakov, Roman (Eds.) (2016): Interactive Collaborative Robotics. First International Conference, ICR 2016, Budapest, Hungary, August 24-26, 2016, Proceedings.

... and other project related literature.

• Self-organised learning and independent work according to the standards of the respective research unit
• Collaboration and presence in the team and participation in working groups
• Coaching and guidance
• Experiments, field research, laboratory work, etc.
• Moderation and presentation techniques
• Project completion in the form of a publication, research report, poster, video, etc.

In research projects, the students deepen their knowledge with current research questions, which are pursued at FH Vorarlberg in the context of demanding research projects or within the framework of a documented internal competence building. Experiences and insights from the research process are recorded in a logbook.

As learners, students have the time to construct, reconstruct, or deconstruct knowledge (to uncover the limitations of ones own discipline). In the actual research process, they pursue a scientific approach ("craftsmanship quality") in research and observation / survey as well as a constructive approach to active and passive criticism in the discussion.

Supervision by researchers of the University of Applied Sciences FH Vorarlberg is provided by coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars, as well as by guided self-studies.