Thesis Instructions INTBBA

Thesis process and enrollment 

The thesis process consists of:

• Approved completion of a compulsory key competence course “Research and Development Skills” 5 ECTS (ANA001HH1AE). Enrollment into this course performed through Peppi in standard manner. In order to enroll and participate in the Thesis seminar, this course must be completed.
• A 15 ECTS thesis: phases 1 (thesis seminar), 2 and 3 (each 3 phases are 5 ECTS) and a maturity test.
• Please note! Enrollment for thesis process must be completed in Wihi (see section “Creating your Wihi-project” below). One registration in Wihi covers all thesis phases. 
• For GLOBBA & SEBBA students: Please start your thesis process by creating a Wihi-project according your planned thesis schedule to participate at next available thesis seminar. Both Wihi-project setup instructions and thesis seminar registration schedules are provided below. You should NOT enroll into “Research and Development Skills” 5 ECTS (ANA001HH1AE), but directly into thesis seminar.

Start and prepare for your thesis process by participating in the "Research and Development Skills" (ANA001HH1AE) course. You enroll to this course through Peppi's Personal Study Plan. This course focuses on the basics of conducting research and introduces fundamental methods, providing you with the skills needed for your Thesis. 

The Thesis Process begins when you register as a thesis writer in the Wihi system (fill in the topic proposal in Wihi - see section “Creating your Wihi-project” below). You can register in Wihi at any time, but registrations will be processed after the registration deadline according to the schedule below. You will be assigned a personal thesis advisor according to the schedule below. Once your thesis advisor is assigned, it will be visible to you in Wihi. Registrations after the deadline will automatically be moved to the next period. Thesis process starts through thesis seminar which consists of mandatory sessions held weekly throughout the period (8 weeks).

You can begin your thesis in INTBBA, International Business Programme, four times a year, new Thesis Seminars start in each period. Below are the registration schedules for available thesis groups.

Creating your Wihi-project

1. Open Wihi.
2. Login to Wihi with your Haaga-Helia network credentials (Note: if you have previous/other student accounts, please check under your name at the top right corner of the page to ensure you are registering for Wihi with the correct role/student number).
3. If needed, change language into EN on Wihi website’s toolbar.
4. Select function “Create a topic proposal”.
5. Fill your topic proposal as complete as possible at the time of thesis project creation. At minimum, you must fill in the fields marked with a red asterisk.
6. In the field major, type in one of the following: Accounting and Finance, International Business Communication, People Management, Marketing and Sales, or Supply Chain Management.
7. When indicating your advising time preference, specify which of the scheduled thesis seminar group guidance sessions you can attend (day/evening/any). Please do not leave this field blank!
8. Press the "Submit" button.
9. If you are pursuing a double degree, please contact thesis coordinator Senior Lecturer Miikka Mäkelä (miikka.makela@haaga-helia.fi) when registering for the process.

For technical issues with Wihi, please contact Haaga-Helia Education Services for assistance: kjp@haaga-helia.fi

Thesis seminar

Thesis seminar’s group guidance sessions consist of mandatory informational sessions and meetings with thesis advisor. It is advisable to schedule the time in your calendar already upon registration!

Thesis seminar’s group guidance sessions are scheduled at fixed times:- Wednesdays from 14:00 to 16:45 online arranged at all academic periods (1-4) Wednesdays from 17:40 to 20:30 online arranged at starting periods of both fall and spring semesters (periods 1 and 3).

When registering through creating a Wihi-project, you have indicated which time slot for group guidance you will attend. Once you have been assigned a thesis advisor, you will receive an email providing more detailed information about upcoming thesis seminar’s group guidance sessions.

During the group guidance sessions, you will begin drafting your thesis plan, which will be approved by the instructor at the end of the session. This will earn you an "H" mark indicating completion of Wihi-phase 1/3 of your thesis.

Arrange with a potential commissioning company for your thesis project through a commission agreement. For more details, consult your thesis advisor.

Following the thesis seminar’s group guidance sessions, you will coordinate with your thesis advisor regarding the progression, guidance, and completion of your thesis, including Wihi-phases 2/3 and 3/3.

After registering for the thesis process, you can begin to develop a more detailed thesis plan. You will receive detailed instructions on how to create it from your thesis advisor during thesis seminar’s group guidance sessions or other meetings.

The thesis plan must be approved by your thesis advisor before you can proceed further in the process. Typically, you will present your thesis plan at thesis seminar to your thesis advisors and other seminar participants. Your thesis advisor will organize a specific schedule for each seminar participant for their thesis plan presentations. Typically, after your plan’s presentation, you will receive development suggestions or requirements in order to receive a permission and an approval to start writing your thesis.

The templates for the thesis plan (all various thesis types) can be found here (see section Thesis templates and guidelines).

In scheduling your entire thesis writing process and its submission for assessment, please utilize the following information: Graduation and applying for graduation incl. key dates.

Thesis clinics are targeted to give student general thesis, academic writing and methods (both qualitative and quantitative) advising. You can book for a thesis clinic appointment whenever you need to consult our specialists on specific thesis related issues.

Make your thesis clinic reservation through online Excel. 

Thesis clinic staff with specialization areas:

• Päivö Laine (paivo.laine@haaga-helia.fi): general thesis issues, topic planning, company negotiations, qualitative methods. 
• Jutta Heikkilä (jutta.heikkila@haaga-helia.fi): quantitative methods.
• Anna Kimberley (anna.kimberley@haaga-helia.fi): academic writing.

The thesis is a part of the degree as regulated by the Decree on Universities of Applied Sciences (932/2014). Its extent at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences is 15 credits, equivalent to 400 hours of work, consisting of the following:

• Thesis seminar (compulsory participation)

• Thesis clinic (voluntary participation)

• Thesis advising by thesis advisor (group guidance during thesis seminar, individual guidance after thesis seminar)

• Individual thesis planning and writing

Checklist for thesis initiation and planning phase

• Enroll for the thesis process through Wihi.
• Participate actively in your thesis seminar led by your thesis advisor.
• If your plan is to write a commissioned thesis, agree on the thesis project with a company through a commission agreement.
• Prepare, present and have your thesis plan approved by your thesis advisor at thesis seminar.
• Create a realistic and executable schedule for your thesis project.

Checklist for thesis writing phase

• Work on your thesis systematically and according to your planned schedule.
• Communicate regularly with your thesis advisor and also with your commissioning company.
• Utilize the thesis clinics for method and academic writing support.
• Use Haaga-Helia reporting guidelines as the basis for your report writing (instructions for guidelines for long reports and theses available here - see section Thesis templates and guidelines).
• Ensure proper citation and referencing from the beginning according to Haaga-Helia guidelines (see Haaga-Helia Library’s LibGuides > section “Reference help”).

Checklist for thesis finalizing phase

• Submit your thesis for assessment to your thesis advisor.
• Assessment version is final unless technical corrections are requested by the thesis assessors during the assessment process. If your thesis cannot be accepted, it will be returned to you for further refinement with specifications. The grade of the thesis cannot be raised.
• After the assessment is complete, your thesis advisor will grant you a permission to publish the approved work in Theseus.
• Add the Theseus link to your published thesis into Wihi. Your thesis advisor needs to verify and test the functionality of the link and confirm it.
• Complete the maturity test.
• You can review your thesis grade and assessment once the assessment process has been completed, you have written the maturity test, and the link to your thesis in Theseus has been added and confirmed in Wihi.
• Register for graduation.

In case of questions, please contact your thesis advisor.