Research Projects

The research projects procedure and timeline will be explained below in a nutshell. It is important to also carefully read the following detailed formal guidelines and share these with your examiner and supervisor(s): 

For any questions, please contact Internship Coordinator Marlies van Daalen at info-msc-bsb.beta@vu.nl

1. Looking for a research project

  • Attend the information session on research projects for first-year students, scheduled around March every year. This will provide more details & tips. See here Download here for the slides of the most recent session.
  • Please check here for opportunities. Keep in mind the duration of a Minor or Major research project: a Minor can be between 3-5 months, and a Major can be between 5-10 months, depending on the choices you make for your second year. See for more information the Guidelines for students above.
  • The required scope depends on the type of project:
    • Bioinformatics major research project: needs to be within the field of Bioinformatics, and contain a
      molecular/cellular biology component and a substantial computational component.
    • Systems Biology major research project: needs to be within the field of Systems Biology, and contain a
      molecular/cellular biology component and a quantitative component focused on
      interpretation at the system level.
    • Minor research project: should be in a field related to the topics covered by the Master programme. It has the aim
      to broaden your knowledge, skills and/or professional network. Hence, Minor and Major
      projects should typically be in a different research environment and on a different topic

2. Preparing

  • Start arrangements at least 6 months in advance if you are considering to go abroad for your research project. For research projects within the Netherlands you can skip this step.
  • At least 2 months before the start of the research project you need to discuss the specifics with your internship host (supervisory team) and your examiner. This is especially important in case of external projects.
  • Take sufficient time to review and then fill out the UNL Model Internship Agreement Download UNL Model Internship Agreement with everyone involved. It is mandatory for all internships to use this agreement, drawn up by UNL (Universities of the Netherlands). Please note that the VU cannot accept and sign other agreements drawn up by external parties themselves. If they require additional sections to be added to the agreement, this is only possible in certain cases. If there is any concern about the agreement, please contact the internship coordinator via email as soon as possible to avoid delays. The coordinator may need to consult the VU legal department, which will take additional time. This stage of the process should results in an agreement signed by the intern, internship host and internship coordinator.
  • At the same time, you should also start work on your research project proposal Download research project proposal and discuss this with your supervisor and examiner. They need to confirm their approval of your proposal in writing (via e-mail) before you can continue to the next step. 
  • Approx. 1 month before the start, your research project needs to be entered into the VU registration system. This means that you need to submit the project proposal (approved in the previous step) and the signed internship agreement (if applicable) using the Formdesk start form Links to an external site.. Note that first your supervisor and then your examiner will need to confirm your project via a link in an automatic e-mail sent by Formdesk. Please double-check that the e-mail addresses provided in the start form are up to date, and ask your supervisor and examiner to check their spam folder.
  • Register using the correct course code via the VU registration module. This will give you access to the correct Canvas course.

3. Carrying out the research project 

  • The supervisor and examiner will be notified of any next steps in the process via Formdesk messages and forms.  
  • 4-6 weeks into the project you hand in your GO/NO-GO deliverable as specified in the research project proposal to your supervisor. Your supervisor will assess your deliverable via Formdesk using these criteria Download these criteria. The link should be in the confirmation email they received from Formdesk after having approved the proposal.
  • You will be in close contact with your supervisor throughout the project, but it also recommended to check in with your examiner every 2 months.
  • If you are considering an adjustment or extension of your research project, or if you encounter any issues or delays, please contact both the internship coordinator (via info-msc-bsb.beta@vu.nl) and your examiner as soon as possible to discuss this.
  • Interim milestone: if you are doing a Major research project of 42 EC or more, you will need to complete an interim milestone halfway through your project (so in month 4 or 5). The purpose is to check that the project is going as planned. It should take the form of a mid-term presentation of 20 minutes that you give to your supervisor and examiner. In addition, you should prepare a partial draft report (interim report) that includes the introduction (state-of-art from the literature, as well as your research questions and objectives), the current state of the methods part at the time of the interim milestone, the current state of your results, and bullet items for the remaining work you are planning to do. Your supervisors should provide feedback on your interim report. At the end of the research project, you will build on this interim report to finalise your report.
  • About 3 months before the end of your research project, you should agree on final deadlines with your supervisor(s) and examiner. It is recommended to:
    • Double-check the thesis and presentation guidelines Download thesis and presentation guidelines.
    • Schedule your final presentation Download Schedule your final presentation. Note that your presentation and defence are public - unless your supervisor explicitly states this is not possible. Your examiner and one of your supervisors should attend the final presentation. The supervisor will act as the moderator. If your supervisor cannot attend, please inform your examiner and the internship coordinator on time so an alternative moderator can be found.
    • Hand in a full draft of the research thesis to your supervisor(s) about 4-6 weeks before your final presentation . You should receive feedback from them at least once.
    • Hand in the final version of your thesis to your supervisor 2 weeks before your final presentation, and upload your thesis via Formdesk: https://fd20.formdesk.com/vuamsterdam/Submission_Form_Final_Report_FEW Links to an external site.You also need to submit your thesis for a plagiarism check by uploading as an assignment within the relevant Canvas course. There are separate assignments for confidential versus non-confidential theses. 
    • Give a trial presentation at the location of your research project also around 2 weeks before your final presentation, so that your supervisor can give you feedback for the final presentation and defence.
    • Before your final presentation - preferably at least a few days in advance - your supervisor needs to complete their assessment via Formdesk
    • Shortly after your final presentation your examiner will complete their assessment form via Formdesk

4. Assessing and grading the research project

  • Provided the supervisor and examiner assessments have been submitted timely, we will confirm and register your final grade 1-2 weeks after your final presentation. This only applies if a third assessor is not required (see the guidelines for more information).
  • The formal assessment consists of the following components:
    • Project proposal [Feedback + Pass/Fail]
    • GO/NO-GO assessment [Feedback + Pass/Fail]
    • Professional development [Feedback + Grade 20%]
    • Research competence [Feedback + Grade 40%] (assessed based on thesis, presentation and defence)
    • Research thesis [Feedback + Grade 30%]
    • Presentations [Feedback + Grade 10%]
  • If you want to graduate before the end of the academic year, your final research project grade must be registered before 1 September. Note that there is limited availability of supervisors and examiners in the months of July and August, and that you should aim to finish your last research project by the end of June.