040135 KO Masterarbeitskonversatorium für VWL (2018W)

Format: This is a mandatory class for the Master in Economics at the University of Vienna and is only for those who have started to work on their Masters’ thesis. Each student has to present twice. The first presentation gives the ideas and related literature and highlights what kind of results are aimed for. The second presentation shows the results and added value and puts these in light of the literature. Prior to the second presentation the advisor of the Masters’ thesis has to approve in writing to the instructor that at least 60% of the thesis has been completed.
To have completed 60% of the thesis means that a central result has been obtained, that the detailed outline of the thesis is ready and that the related literature has been summarized. 60% are not ready if only the data has been gathered or only a model has been formulated.
Objective: In our economics bachelor you are supposed to learn how to understand economic reasoning. In our master you are supposed to be able to execute your own economic reasoning. This masters’ course is about showing us that you are an economist at the master level. In order to pass this course you need to be able to present the novel ideas that you have developed in your Masters’ thesis to a broad audience. This course will also evaluate your ability to give feedback on the presentations of others.

The first presentation lasts 10 minutes. The second presentation 15 minutes. Time limit is strict. No handouts are allowed. Prior to each presentation a title of the thesis and abstract of at most 100 words is sent to the instructor, to be distributed among the participants. The abstract is like one of a published paper, it is a teaser to make the reader be curious. It is not a summary nor a table of contents of the paper. The title is like that of a published paper, it should be not too long, catch the attention, have some content and be related to the results. The presenter will get feedback on the first drafts of the slides if these are sent to the instructor at least 3 days prior to the date of presentation. This feedback will not be graded, it is only meant to improve performance.

After each presentation members of the audience are asked to give immediate feedback orally and this feedback is graded. Each feedback has to have two parts, praise and critique. Feedback has to be balanced, giving only praise or only critique is bad feedback. Each participant has to give feedback for at least one first and one second presentation (multiple feedbacks for same presenter not allowed). Areas for appraisal include style of presentation (hands in pockets, format of slides, speech), related literature (seminal paper, most related, difference to literature) and novel contribution (what was known prior to the thesis, what is the change in understanding due to thesis).

Participants are encouraged to give feedback to the presenter outside of the class. One week after the presentation the presenter sends the instructor the names of the students who gave valuable comments outside the class (to be named in this email adds to the grade of the class).
Participants are encouraged to work in pairs, to identify a buddy, who helps in the preparation of each of the presentations. The buddy should be identified in the presentation. Feedback of the buddy after the talk is not graded. The instructor is free to choose any of the participants when searching for oral feedback after a presentation.