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

Application deadline: September to 31.10.2024. 

Send the written expression of interest (content: Who am I? Why am I interested in research in this area?) to peter.kepplinger@fhv.at .

Students will be selected for the research project on the basis of a personal interview. 

Acceptance or rejection must be made by 15.11.2024 at the latest.

If you are accepted, the research project will be listed together with the other courses on your A5 portal under "Grades" from December. With 12 ECTS, the entire Contextual Studies are thus defined and booked.

In the event of rejection, other courses for the summer semester 2025 with 3 or 6 ECTS in the compulsory elective area are available for selection on the A5 portal until 30 November 2024. 

Scheduling takes place with those responsible for the research project. 

Reseach Project: Energy Technology addresses SDG 7 - reliable, affordable, sustainable and contemporary energy.

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.

Fundamentals of scientific work, introduction to research design and research planning, applied research and development methods in the field of current topic in the field of energy technologies.

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 Energy Research Centre.

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.

Students develop a scientific work in which they independently work on and answer a research question defined in the current research environment of the FHV. In the case of the Energy Research Centre, technical aspects of the “Energieautonomie 2050” are in focus. Through these projects they acquire

• an overview of research questions and current activities and fields of application in the area of microtechnology and optics
• deepened methodological knowledge, which is not standard in core curricula
• knowledge for later scientific activities (eg dissertation).

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 at the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences is provided by coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars, as well as by accompanying self-study.

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

Publication of the research results in the form of a presentation in the winter semester, a publication, a research report, a conference paper, a video or similar.

The course "Research Project: Energy Technology" will be continued under the same name in the coming winter semester. 

As the Energy Research Centre is active in a variety of different energy technologies, relevant literature will be given after specifying the topic of the project.

• 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 themselves to current research questions, which are pursued at FHV 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, they 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 at the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences is provided by coaching, instruction, participation in discussions and seminars, as well as by accompanying self-study.