Project: Social transformation, social entrepreneurship and social enterprise

E2024

Social Entrepreneurship and Management

Project

English

Read about the Master Programme and find the Study Regulations at ruc.dk

You register for activities through stads selvbetjening during the announced registration period, which you can see on the Study administration homepage.

Registration for project-exam: Please remember to confirm your registration by signing up for exam as a group when the group formation is final. The registration is through STADS Online Student Service

When registering for courses, please be aware of the potential conflicts and overlaps between course and exam time and dates. The planning of course activities at Roskilde University is based on the recommended study programmes, which should not overlap. However, if you choose optional courses and/or study plans that goes beyond the recommended study programmes, an overlap of lectures or exam dates may occur depending on which courses you choose.

15

Christine Revsbech (crevsbech@ruc.dk)

Luise Li Langergaard (luiseli@ruc.dk)

IMT Registration & Exams (imt-exams@ruc.dk)

U60216

In the project work the students work with a self-selected research problem related to the main topics of the semester, social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, solidarity economy or social responsibility in the context of social transformations by applying one or more of the theoretical and practical approaches to the subject. Students get to work with project-oriented work processes and to apply relevant qualitative and/or quantitative social science methods in relation to social entrepreneurship.

Project and group formation:

The project work begins with a project and group formation, which is facilitated by teachers and runs over the course of two or three days. This process entails various activities such as reading of project reports, presentation of the formal requirements for the project, the project work guidelines, as well as idea generation and development in plenary and in smaller groups. We encourage and expect students to go into group formation with an open mind, to listen to other students when discussing project ideas and generally to take responsibility for the success of the process for all involved parties. Students are expected to take initiative themselves and attempt to find group members to collaborate with and to collectively take responsibility for finding groups for all students.

The activities in the project formation process all aim to support students in forming sustainable project groups based on the students’ interests within the frame of the programme’s module description. They include:

• Share ideas and interests related to project work.
• To collaboratively identify themes, which can be turned into interesting and relevant academic problems.
• Discuss and develop these ideas to develop and refine them – all ideas are collectively refined through discussion.
• By the end to form groups based on students’ shared interest around a problem/theme.

Project work in groups:

The project work is conducted in groups of 2-7 students. It is expected that all students contribute actively to the professional collective learning community through for example facilitation of groups meetings, lifting agreed tasks and by giving constructive feedback to their peers.

Supervision:

After project and group formation the groups will have a supervisor assigned. The aim of supervision is to support the project work through feedback and constructive critique to help the group progress with their project work. The supervision is centered around the students’ problem formulation and under concern for the students’ freedom to choose theories and method within the frame of the module’s project description.

The groups are expected to independently manage the project, which includes taking the initiative to meet with the supervisor and to send an agenda and reading instructions prior to supervision meetings. The groups are also expected to engage in a dialogue on agreement and expectations with regards to the collaboration with the supervisor. The number of supervision hours depends on the group size and are specified in the project work guidelines, which are shared on moodle.

Midterm evaluation:

The project work is supported by a midterm evaluation The aim of the midterm evaluation is to support the development of the projects and to allow students to practice and develop competencies of giving and receiving constructive feedback to and from other students and supervisors. Besides, the midterm evaluation works as preparation for the exam in the sense that students get a chance to practice receiving formative feedback on their oral presentations and discussions of the project. It is part of the training in given oral presentations and participating in discussion of dimensions of the project.

Competency reflection:

A competency reflection must be submitted with the project on all modules. The details about the competency reflection are described in the project work guidelines: Project work at SEM - Practice and guidelines, which can be found on moodle.

It is an individual reflection on the learning and competency development through the course of the studies. It has the aim of supporting students in articulating their competency development and progression throughout the programme. It is meant as a tool that the students can use to create an overview and construct and overview of their progression from one semester to the next.

There is no common syllabus for project work. Students themselves select relevant literature for their project work.

We recommend that students actively use the book The Group Project: How to do it by K. A. Sørensen and E. Bendix.

The project work is organised in groups established on the basis of academic topics and interests at the beginning of the semester.

Study intensity

Outline:

The project corresponds to 15 ECTS = 405 working hours per student. Students are expected to spend approximately an average of 20 working hour per week and to work on the project throughout the semester, but most intensively in the second half of the semester.

Working hours related to specified activities: - Competency reflection: 3 hours - Supervision meetings 4-6 hours, excluding preparation - Midterm evaluation 15 hours including preparation of midterm paper and oral presentation and preparation of feedback for the feedback group - Exam ½ per student, excluding preparation of oral presentation. The total exam time depends on the number of students in the group

Teaching and learning activities

• Project- and group formation
• Project work
• Supervision
• Peer feedback
• Competency reflection report
• Mid-term evaluation
• Homework individually/in study groups

The project work is evaluated by a survey by the end of the semester.

Continuous evaluation of the project work process includes mutual feedback between students and supervisor, and midterm evaluation that includes peer- and supervisor feedback (with feedback group). At the end of the oral exam, there is individual and/or group feedback from supervisor and examiner.

The final evaluation of project work on the first and second semester is conducted as an evaluation activitity with all students in the beginning of the group formation in the subsequent semester. The evaluation focuses on ensuring a good group formation, project work, and maintaining students' progression and learning through project work.

Project and group formation takes place in the third week of the semester. A detailed programme and description can be found on moodle.

After completing this activity, students will be able to:

• Situate, compare and assess own academic work within research and practice of social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, civil society organisations, solidarity economy and/or social responsibility in the context of social transformations.

• Define, apply and motivate a problem-oriented research question and a research design in a study of social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, solidarity economy and/or social responsibility.

• Select, apply and critically assess philosophies of science, theory and empirical research methods in a study and analysis in the area of social entrepreneurship.

• Collaborate to manage and organise a project on a complex interdisciplinary research question in a reflective and critical manner.

• Independently give and receive feedback on academic texts produced by themselves or their peers.

• Formulate a concise precis (summary, synopsis, résumé, abstract) of their own project,

• Evaluate the processes involved in the project work and reflect on their own role in this

• Master oral and written communication of research-based knowledge.

Oral project exam in groups with individual assessment


Permitted group size: 2-7 students.

The character limits of the project report are:
For 2 students: 100,800-151,200 characters, including spaces.
For 3 students: 100,800-151,200 characters, including spaces.
For 4 students: 151,200-204,000 characters, including spaces.
For 5 students: 151,200-204,000 characters, including spaces.
For 6 students: 204,000-240,000 characters, including spaces.
For 7 students: 204,000-240,000 characters, including spaces.
The character limits include the cover, table of contents, summary, bibliography, figures and other illustrations, but exclude any appendices.



Time allowed for exam including time used for assessment is for:
2 students: 60 minutes.
3 students: 75 minutes.
4 students: 90 minutes.
5 students: 105 minutes.
6 students: 120 minutes.
7 students: 135 minutes.

Writing and spelling skills in the project report are part of the assessment.

Permitted support and preparation materials at the oral exam: All

Assessment: 7-point grading scale.
Moderation: Internal co-assessor.

Samme som ordinær eksamen / same form as ordinary exam

The course of the examination is as follows:

1. The exam begins with a short presentation given by each group member of some dimension of the project.

2. The exam continues with a dialogue between the whole group and the examiners. Here the examiners attempt to deepen and extend the themes and conclusions outlined in the project report.

3. The group leaves the exam room and the examiners discuss the exam, the project report as a whole, the students’ individual presentations and, finally, reach a decision on individual grades.

4. The group is invited back into the room and the examiners give an overall reflection on the project report and the presentations.

Assessment criteria

The assessment is an overall assessment of the written product(s) and the subsequent oral examination. The exam is conducted in a way, which allows for individual assessment of each student. It will be assessed to which degree the student demonstrates:

The assessment of the project report will be based on the extend to which it:

• Demonstrates ability to define, apply and motivate a problem-oriented research question and a research design in a study of social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, solidarity economy and/or social responsibility
• Demonstrates ability to select, apply and critically assess philosophies of science, theory and empirical research methods in a study and analysis in the area of social entrepreneurship
• Demonstrates ability to select and argue for the choice of relevant theories for the research problem
• Conducts the research planned in the selected research design
• Conducts a relevant and reflective analysis of to answer the research question
• Demonstrates critical reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the selected research design and choice of theories
• Master correct language and referencing according to academic standards

The oral performance is assessed to which degree the student demonstrates:

• Ability to present and critically reflect upon the problem formulation, research design, analysis and findings of the project
• Ability to conduct a discussion of all elements of the project report including the theories and research literature used in the project