Making the most of Masters

Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland

Making the most of Masters

Graduate School

Making the Most of Masters

MASTS is working together with the Making the Most Of Masters initiative in order to improve collaboration between work places and universities by providing opportunities for marine focused MSc students to undertake work based projects. These are adaptable across disciplines and key economic areas in Scotland.

You probably have a number of projects you would like to do but simply do not have the time or resources to undertake. Making the Most of Masters can help you. We link you with masters students with the skills and drive to undertake this work. As it forms an integral part of their degree programme, a formal salary payment is not required. The only condition is that the scope is sufficient to form the basis for the student’s formal academic assessment.

The benefits of such a scheme include:

Those choosing to host projects can utilise expertise from Scotland’s leading universities in marine science and can access a pool of highly motivated and talented masters students.
Students can undertake a real world project with real impact for the organisation, whilst improving their employability.
Universities can develop and build upon links with industry and NGOs, whilst raising the profile of their masters programmes.
Masters Programme Coordinators can add value to masters programmes by embedding
work based projects as an optional alternative to a more traditional dissertation

A Masters student could:

aid in research and development;
develop technical solutions;
undertake a critical analysis of processes or products;
analyse samples and data;
assist in the review of operation and policy;
participate in the delivery of time-constrained projects.

The format is a flexible one. Projects can be desk, field or laboratory based and whilst all should meet the academic standard required at masters level, they primarily offer clear benefits to your organisation and result in quality outputs.

More Information:

“Masters students and employers increasingly expect an element of workplace experience during postgraduate studies, to complement subject specific knowledge. Making the Most of Masters is exactly the type of initiative we need to ensure Scottish postgraduate students gain that experience and the essential workplace skills needed to enhance their employability.” Dr Bernadette Connolly, Director of Graduate School, College of Life Sciences & Medicine, University of Aberdeen

“Our masters graduates have to compete successfully in the harshest job market for 40 years. This inititive will enable them to do that to their highest level. The University of Edinburgh is strongly supportive of this project, which makes bridges with industry and employers, and allows us to help companies and students through useful interaction.” Dr Sue Rigby, VP Learning and Teaching, University of Edinburgh

This material has been adapted from resources produced by the Making the Most of Master Project in November 2012. Funded by the Scottish Funding Council as part of their Learning to Work 2 initiative, Making the Most of Masters is a Scotland-wide project led by the Universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Stirling. See www.mastersprojects.ac.uk for further information and updated resources, reports and contacts.

For more information on Making the Most of Masters contact Dr Emma Defew, MASTS Programme Coordinator.

Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland