Diploma Thesis

According to the regulations applicable to the Department of Electronic Engineering, the preparation of a diploma thesis by students following the 5-year Undergraduate Studies Program (BAS) is mandatory and is credited with 30 ECTS credits. The preparation of the thesis aims to:

for students to delve deeper into topics of their interest, acquiring knowledge and skills that will help them in their future development and career,
in familiarizing students with scientific thinking and methodology, the overview of existing knowledge, and the research effort,
in giving students the opportunity to broaden their thinking and seek innovation,
in giving students the opportunity to come into contact with cutting-edge research topics, always depending on their interests, which is highly encouraged in the Department of Electronic Engineering.

By completing the dissertation, students will have developed and improved their skills:

in the structured search of scientific sources, and in the bibliographic review,
in the clear formulation of a scientific problem, and in the organization and design of the methodology for dealing with it,
in the collection of data, their processing, their presentation, and the drawing of conclusions for the interpretation of phenomena,
in solving problems related to the subject of Electronic Engineering,
in writing scientific texts and presenting them to a wide audience.

Diploma thesis assignment and preparation procedures
The preparation of a diploma thesis requires that the student has successfully attended 36 of the 48 courses of the first 8 semesters. In the 10th semester, typically, the student chooses and prepares his diploma thesis, with a typical preparation duration of six months.
In the Department of Electronic Engineering, and for the convenience of students, it is possible and recommended to choose a thesis topic from the 9th semester of studies. All diploma theses in the Department of Electronic Engineering are to a lesser or greater degree research, and are prepared under the supervision and research guidance of a faculty member of the Department.
After each examination period, the lecturers (Members of the Faculty-EDIP-ETEP, Young Scientists for the Acquisition of Teaching Experience, Teachers PD 407/80, and Academic Scholars) suggest topics for diploma theses. The Department Assembly ensures that a sufficient number of topics are announced, so that students have the option of choosing. The interested students, after consultation with the lecturer of the subject, request the undertaking of a thesis on a specific subject, with their application to the Secretariat, which is countersigned by the lecturer of the subject. As long as there is a joint decision between the Departments, thesis supervision can be assigned to Faculty Members or appointed lecturers of another Department of the same or another School, or to Faculty Members of Departments of other Universities.
Typically, the thesis topic is assigned to a single student. In the event that two or more students express their interest in the same thesis topic, it is within the jurisdiction of the supervising lecturer who suggested the topic to choose the student to whom it will be assigned. However, in special cases where there is a clear distinction between the individual tasks and after the recommendation of the supervisor, the same thesis can be assigned to two or more students.
Then there are examples of the documents that must be filled in to start preparing the diploma thesis. Upon their submission, the decision / final approval is given by the Assembly of the Department. The official start date of the thesis is defined as the date that the Department Assembly approved the submitted thesis assignment proposal. A student who undertook the preparation of a diploma thesis under the supervision of a specific teacher, may, with a reasoned request, request (once) to change the topic. Also, again after clear justification and written request, the subject/title of the thesis can be modified to the extent that the original description is not substantially altered. In the event of the need for substantial changes arising in the course of preparation of the thesis, a written request must be submitted in a timely manner by the supervisor in consultation with the student.
To facilitate the writing of the thesis, the Department defines a template in the form of an electronic text processing file, which is posted on the Department’s website, after it has been approved by the Assembly. In addition, explicit instructions for writing the thesis, as well as a guide for writing bibliographic references, are posted on the Department’s website.

Supervision – Obligations of supervisors and students
All members of the teaching staff who independently teach courses in the 5-year PPS of the Department, have the possibility to undertake the supervision/supervision of a diploma thesis on topics related to their subject and research interests. The supervisor undertakes to direct the student throughout the preparation of the thesis on the basis of a clear schedule and to assist him in all stages of the preparation of the thesis: (i) in the initial planning and approach to the topic, (ii) in the bibliography review, (iii) solving the specific problem, (iv) processing the data, (v) drawing the relevant conclusions, and (vi) writing and presenting the thesis.
Students must cooperate with their supervisors at regular intervals, keep them informed of any problems and difficulties that arise, be consistent with the timetables set, and not exert undue pressure.
In general, the role of the supervisor is advisory, and the students themselves should develop the necessary initiatives, since regardless of the degree of contribution of the supervisor, the responsibility for the quality of the thesis is primarily the responsibility of the student who prepares it, and secondarily the supervisor who proposes and supervises her.

Completion procedures – Evaluation
After completing the thesis, and with the supervisor’s approval, the student submits his thesis to the Secretariat in electronic format. The Assembly appoints a Three-member Examination Committee from Members of the Department’s permanent and temporary teaching staff for its evaluation. The evaluation process includes the presentation of the thesis by the student to a wide audience. Presentations of theses can be organized in groups on fixed dates at least 4 times a year, and can be attended by all members of the academic community of the Department (teachers and students), as well as visitors.

Depending on the topic and the particularities of each thesis, the main evaluation criteria are indicatively:

updating existing knowledge with appropriate bibliographic research,
the correct presentation of bibliographic sources,
constructing and solving or simulating the problem,
the acquisition of data as a result of a theoretical calculation, or an experimental process, or their mining/collection;
the computer processing of the collected data,
the tests, applications and evaluation of results,
its structure and written presentation (coherence of the text, correct use of terminology and language, precise formulation of concepts, compliance with writing standards),
the scientifically correct documentation of the conclusions,
the zeal and initiatives taken by the student during the preparation, and
the oral presentation of the thesis.

The weighting factors of the above indicative criteria vary according to the nature of the subject and the assessments of the Examining Committee, whose members judge and score independently at their discretion. The grade of the thesis results from the average score of the members of the Committee. The minimum passing grade is 5 (five). The members of the Committee complete and submit to the Secretariat a relevant evaluation record, which includes the name of the student, the title of the thesis and the final grade. If a DE is deemed incomplete, it is referred for additional processing and returned for examination.
All completed DEs are compulsorily deposited in the University’s institutional repository in accordance with the institutional repository policy, which is approved by the Senate. The submission of assignments by students is mandatory and is controlled by the Department Secretariat.

Ethics – Reservation of rights – Plagiarism
The copyright of the thesis, according to the written provisions, belongs to those who contributed to its preparation (Institution, Department, supervisor, student). In the event that the scientific results of the work are patented, the current legislation applies to the owners of the rights arising from it. What is mentioned in the text of the thesis does not necessarily mean that they are identified or accepted by the Department. In any case, reference should be made to the authors of the paper, the title of the paper and the Department. All parties involved in the preparation of a DE are committed to comply with the Rules of Academic Conduct, as established by the Institution’s Ethics Committee.
Plagiarism, in the sense of appropriating the intellectual property of others, often in the form of the author’s presentation, intentionally or unintentionally, of another person’s work, is condemned by the EM Department, and is not only a moral offense, but also violates copyright law. copyright and may result in legal penalties. Sources should always be clearly cited, whether this is text or unpublished ideas and opinions.
Other actions that violate the codes of academic ethics and integrity, and are also reprehensible, include delegating part or all of an assignment to someone else, copying the work of others across the board, collaborating with students on an assignment without the supervisor’s knowledge. In connection with the previous points, each student should make it clear in the text of the DE what is the product of his own work and what is the product of another person’s work, making systematic reference to references and placing them where they should.