You need a plan before you start
The special assignments give also an opportunity to learn basic project management skills. These skills include planning the work carefully in the beginning, and reflecting on it at the end. Careful planning and mindful review of the work as a project with specific goals, and limited timeframe and resources, is an essential skill not only for succesful independent scientific research, but also for worklife in general.
For this reason, before
starting a special assignment, it is mandatory to fill the special
assignment plan. The form for the special assignment plan can be found at the ond of this page.
The plan has three parts:
- General information
- Work plan and learning objectives
- Review of the work and learning outcomes
1st part: General information
The student fills the 1st part right in the beginning of the work together with the instructor, and sends it to the supervisor, who approves it. This signals the beginning of the assignment and confirms that the topic is suitable for the course.
2nd part: Work plan and learning objectives
Next, the student
and instructor meet in person to discuss the work plan in more detail,
including learning objectives, and fill the 2nd part of the plan
together. The student then sends the 2nd part to the supervisor, as well as submits
to -- Submission of the plan.
3rd part: Review of the work and learning
outcomes
When the special assignment report is ready and the instructor has given his/her feedback on the work to the student, the student fills the 3rd part of the plan and sends it, including also the 1st and 2nd part, to the supervisor and submits to -- Submission of the plan. This signals end of the assignment.
If the work becomes too large for a single special assignment, it is possible to divide it into two separate assignments. In this case, the division must be complete and two different reports must be written.