Advanced Project Studies (Master in Management)

The project study consists of a specific problem statement or challenge that a company or any similar institution faces. This challenge may have a research-related or practical character. The project study and its findings regarding the outlined problem set are based on students' academic knowledge gained through their study programs. Examples of topics covered in the context of a project study include (non-exhaustive list): - Analyzing potential sales volumes of a new market - Identifying potential optimization actions regarding a supply chain - Creating a financing concept for a company - explaining problems of the logistic sector and developing appropriate optimization solutions - Developing specific use cases for new electronic payment procedures and deriving appropriate product specifications - Capturing and processing key performance indicators (KPIs) in controlling and the development of recommended actions - Developing and conceptualizing a marketing strategy and deriving recommendations for implementation in the given market- or company environment

At the end of the module students are able to work on and finalize a management-based project in a systematic and academic manner. They can contribute their own part to a team's work output. Students are able to exchange in a professional and academic manner within a team. They show that they are able to integrate involved persons into the various tasks considering the group situation. Furthermore, the students conduct solution processes through their constructive and conceptual acting in a team. They can make this contribution in a time-limited environment. The students can capture and identify problem sets. Furthermore, they can analyze appropriate methodologies for problem-solving. They are able to infer the appropriate methodologies and to adapt these. On this basis, they can develop analytical solutions. Finally, they can evaluate the developed solutions regarding the problem set. Students are able to summarize and clearly and convincingly communicate the evolution of their project and the developed solutions to an audience of professionals and academics.

Grading is based on a project work. The project work consists of a written project report (20-30 pages, 50% of grade) and a final presentation (30 minutes, 50% of grade). A student team of at least two students (recommended group size: 3-5 students) works on a specific problem set within a company or any other similar institution (including research projects at chairs) and finds suitable solutions. The team runs through several project stages: problem definition, division of work/tasks, decision-making processes, and realization. In that, the students show that they can develop appropriate strategies to cope with the set of problems. They show that they are able to compose the state of research. In addition, they demonstrate their ability to develop their own specific approach to a solution based on scientific knowledge as well as methodical skills. Students demonstrate their ability within a team to manage resources, and deadlines through timely submission of the enumerated tasks. Students demonstrate that they are able to complete the tasks of their project in a team environment. By presenting their project report, students show their ability to summarize and communicate the evolvement of the project in a clear, well-structured, and convincing manner to the supervisors from the company and the university. Additionally, they show that they are able to respond competently to questions and discussions related to the suggested solutions brought by the audience. Grading will mainly take into account the overall working outcome of the project with respect to the initial problem set, the selection and application of the chosen methodology as well as the analyses and discussion of the main findings. The project work is set up in a way that enables the identification and evaluation of each student's individual contribution to the project's success.

Basic knowledge in Business Administration

The team-based development (at least 2 students) of the project solution encourages the students to deal soundly with an academic or practical subject based on their previously acquired theoretical knowledge. Teamwork is particularly suitable for tackling problem sets and writing a report, for developing constructive critiques for others, and for implementing appropriate solutions to these critiques. The project may happen at the premises of the respective company/institution or from a remote location. They are able to communicate the evolvement of the project by composing a project report and preparing a presentation of their solutions to the supervisors from the company as well as the university. The project is supervised jointly by mentors from the respective company/ institution and the professor of the TUM School of Management. With regard to content, the project study takes an approximate time of three months.