Final Master Project

The main objective of the Final Master's Project (TFM) is to carry out an original project in the field of Environmental Engineering where the knowledge and skills acquired during their training are directly applied, whether in the scientific, technical or management.

This subject thus seeks to complete their training and will include, as a minimum, bibliographic search and review tasks, reading and integration of information, preparation of relevant results, and construction of coherent conclusions; all of which will materialize in the writing of a report, the preparation of a presentation and the defense of the work carried out before an evaluation commission.

The TFM is therefore directly linked to all the subjects that make up the degree and precede it in the curriculum, now seeking its integration and professional application of the training received.

The regulations were approved by the Master's Academic Committee at its meeting on March 22, 2017 and can be found in the regulations section of the ETSE intranet:

https://nubeusc.sharepoint.com/sites/centro-etse/Documentos%20compartid…

The TFM may consist of the conceptualization, definition, design and evaluation of elements corresponding to an environmental problem, relative to both a value chain (product/process/service) both at an organizational or management level. That said, the following typologies can be defined:

• Engineering project or draft, formally adjusted to the characteristics of a technical project with its corresponding documents.
• Technical study on a specific topic that will be developed in accordance with the proposal.
• Applied research work.
• Project developed during the stay in companies or public or private organizations.

Taking into account that the type of TFM can be varied, the coordination of the matter will ensure the correct development of their scope through the following mechanisms:

• Establishment of a direct relationship between students and faculty through supervision/direction by the master's faculty, who may be accompanied in this task by people outside the organization.
• definition of common frameworks for the definition, development and evaluation of the personal work carried out by the students; as well as the establishment of a similar level of work for all the students of the degree, in accordance with the workload reflected in the Study Plan (18 ECTS).

The bibliography to use will depend on the theme and the context of the development of each TFM.

This subject will give to the students a number of general competences, desirable for every universitary study, as well as other more specific ones, more linked to the field of Environmental Engineering. The competences that will be especially developed in this subject are the following:

Basic

• CB6 – to have a knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context
• CB7 - That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their fields of study.
• CB8 - That students will be able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgments based on incomplete or limited information, including reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
• CB9 - That students can communicate their conclusions, knowledge and reasons underpinning to specialists and non-specialists in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CB10 - Students must possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

General

• CG1 - Identify and state environmental problems.
• CG9. Manage Technological Research, Development and Innovation, attending to technology transfer and property and patent rights.

Transversal

• CT 3. Adapt to changes, being able to apply new and advanced technologies and other relevant developments, with initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit.
• CT 4. Demonstrate critical and self-critical reasoning, analytical and synthesis capacity.
• CT 5. Prepare, write and publicly defend scientific and technical reports and projects.
• CT 6. Appreciate the value of quality and continuous improvement, acting with rigor, responsibility and professional ethics within the framework of commitment to sustainable development.

Specific

• CE 1. Know how to evaluate and select the appropriate scientific theory and the precise methodology of the field of study of Environmental Engineering to formulate judgments based on incomplete or limited information including, when necessary and pertinent, a reflection on the social or ethical responsibility linked to the solution proposed in each case.
• CE 3. Develop sufficient autonomy to participate in research projects and scientific or technological collaborations within the thematic field of Environmental Engineering, in interdisciplinary contexts and, where appropriate, with a high component of knowledge transfer.
• CE 4. Design products, processes, systems and services of the process industry, as well as the optimization of others already developed, taking the various areas of Environmental Engineering as a technological base.
• CE 8. Address a real Environmental Engineering problem from a scientific-technical perspective, recognizing the importance of searching for and managing existing information and applicable legislation.
• CE 9. Possess the autonomous learning skills to maintain and improve the skills of Environmental Engineering that allow the continuous development of the profession.
• CE 10. Being able to apply environmental management tools (Environmental impact studies, Life cycle analysis, Industrial ecology, Clean technologies, ISO standards, EMAS) when preparing reports or projects.

The TFM will be done individually or in a group under the direction of the degree's teaching staff with the possibility of having other types of staff as co-tutors (see regulations). The contents developed in the degree will be applied, emphasizing the general skills that must be put into practice in depth.

The TFM will be defended in a public session in front of an Evaluation Commission designated for this purpose according to the regulations approved at the meeting of the Academic Commission (April 5, 2017). In this session, the students will describe the main milestones of the work carried out and will answer those questions that the commission asks them.

The committees will be made up of three USC professors who teach the degree, excluding the director of the TFM. The appointment of the commissions corresponds to the Academic Commission at the request of the Master's Coordinator.
In the evaluation of each TFM the following aspects will be taken into account:

i) Work carried out by the student, including the quality of the report presented, the presentation and defense of the TFM before the Evaluation Commission (75%);
ii) Confidential report from the tutor (25%).

The subject has a workload equivalent to 18 ECTS, which is equivalent to 450 hours of total work, which means a very high degree of depth in the subject chosen by the student.

A positive and proactive attitude is recommended; as well as consulting the complete regulations on the website of the degree.

4.- Assignment and management of TFM

Students may propose the theme and type of TFM that they consider most appropriate to their interests, independently or in agreement with a Master's professor. Students may also opt for one of the proposals offered by the master's faculty each academic year.

At the beginning of the 2nd year of the degree, the Master's Coordinator and the Module 5 Coordinator will explain to the students the particularities related to the choice, realization and presentation of the TFM. Emphasis will be placed on the students establishing a round of contacts with the teaching staff of the degree in order to reach meeting points between the interests of the former and the research activities of the latter.

The master's degree students who reach an agreement with a professor may submit a TFM proposal according to the model (Annex I) available on the ETSE intranet (*), where the proposed work and the people involved (student/ a and tutor/s). This application will be submitted to the ETSE secretariat for review and approval, if applicable, by the Academic Committee of the degree.

If in mid-October there were students pending TFM assignment, a single call will be made by the Master's coordination with the list of TFM offered by the teaching staff. After the relevant consultation time, the student body will submit their application indicating in priority the topics chosen according to the model (Annex II) available on the ETSE intranet (*). The Academic Committee of the degree will resolve the assignments, using the academic record of the 1st year of the master's degree as assignment criteria in case of conflict and the decision of the professor offering the proposal in the event of a tie.

(*) https://nubeusc.sharepoint.com/sites/centro-etse/SitePages/TFM-M%C3%A1s…

Regarding the tutors of the TFM:

• The tutor will ordinarily be Teaching and Research Personnel (PDI) from the areas that teach in the degree.
• In addition, personnel hired under Chapter VI who have a Master's degree or another that corresponds to level 3 (Master's) of the MECES may be co-tutors.
• Personnel from outside the USC may also be co-tutors, especially from companies, in those cases in which the theme of the TFM considers it, even if prior to carrying out the co-tutorship, this circumstance must be communicated to the Office of the Vice-rector with competences.

At the request of a student or professor, the Academic Committee may accept the completion of the TFM in instances outside the USC, always ensuring that the proposal is compatible with the objectives and competences of the TFM and that a follow-up will be carried out by a teacher of the Master (who will act as co-tutor).

The tutoring commitment covers only the period defined for the realization of the TFM in the Study Plan (12 weeks). This does not prevent the teacher and the student from extending these tutorials if they agree.

The Module Coordinator will set both the deadlines for delivery of the final report as well as the presentation of the TFM before the Evaluation Commissions.

5. Aspects related to occupational safety and risks prevention

Whether the USC or another external center participates in the development of the TFM, it will be the responsibility of the latter to train the students in relation to those aspects of safety and occupational risk prevention that it considers relevant for the correct and safe presence of the student in their facilities. For their part, the student is obliged to meet the requirements established by the organization in this matter.