3.2. The graduation project
The graduation project is a life performance; student is required to show the necessary competence as an ICT-er at higher professional education (HBO) level. The graduation, like the internship, takes place in the company during the eighth semester of the programme, which nominally falls in the second half of the fourth year. In practice, this means that the student doing the graduation internship in the spring works on it full-time from the beginning of February to the end of June, and a student doing the graduation internship in the autumn works on it from the beginning of September to the end of January the following year.
The graduation assignment
The assignment should correspond with the study programme and level of the student (see section 2) of the student and must contain a research component that illustrates the student’s skills in terms of working methodically at a graduate’s level (see section 4). The graduation assignment should be an integral assignment in which the broadest possible range of skills is demonstrated relating to the chosen main study programme or specialisation. Assignments, directly related to a commercial customer with fixed requirements and/or deadlines are not allowed.
Completion of the graduation project
At the conclusion of the graduation period, it is customary, that the student presents his or her project at the company. Formal completion takes place at school during the graduation session. All graduation sessions together are presented externally as a graduation conference so that interested audiences can choose which graduation session they want to attend (see also H5, Completion of graduation).
The assessment takes as input not only the portfolio, but also the (quality of the) work, presentation and defence at school. The assessment form includes criteria around ICT competences, application of school knowledge and experience in a more complex business situation, as well as professional development such as communication, research, personal leadership, future-oriented organising.