Thesis cluster for sustainable transition - about the initiative

What is a thesis cluster?

A thesis cluster consists of a group of master's students from different disciplines and programs at University West, Chalmers and Gothenburg University, who all write their master's thesis of 30 credits. 

The students are linked to the same overall sustainability challenge but each write their own independent degree project within the framework of their education. The challenges are developed in dialogue with external societal stakeholders in Western Sweden and reflect issues that are difficult to solve from an individual perspective.

 By having multiple essays address the same challenge, using different theories, methods and approaches, a richer overall picture is created. Wexsus acts as a link between students, academia and societal actors and holds the process together from start to finish.

 Why thesis clusters? 

Sustainable transition involves complex societal challenges that can rarely be understood or handled from a single perspective. By bringing together students from different disciplines around the same overarching challenge, Wexsus creates a structure where multiple approaches, methods and perspectives meet. 

The thesis clusters contribute to: 

• In-depth knowledge of prioritized sustainability issues Increased collaboration between academia and society
• Strengthened system understanding among future professionals

 This is how it works in practice 

The thesis clusters are implemented in dialogue with public, idea-driven and private societal actors in Western Sweden who are working in different ways with the transition to a sustainable society at a system level.

 The actors represent a wide range of activities and perspectives and contribute knowledge, experiences and practical context to the themes of the essays. 

Each student writes their thesis within the framework of their regular course, formulates their own research question and has their own supervisor connected to the education. 

Wexsus is responsible for creating good conditions for collaboration between students, academia and societal actors. This means that Wexsus holds the process together, facilitates meetings and acts as a link between different actors and fields of knowledge. 

During the course of the project, Wexsus arranges both physical and digital meetings where the students: 

• meet each other and the participating societal actors
• problematize the common sustainability challenge test tools that deepen the understanding of sustainable development exchange knowledge and perspectives across subject and sector boundaries The initiative concludes with a joint presentation where the students present their results to each other, the participating societal actors and invited guests. Sustainability challenges The themes selected for the essay clusters reflect areas where societal actors demand more knowledge, methods and in-depth study in order to be able to work further with sustainable transition. The selected themes: have a clear Western Swedish focus include organizational, technical, cultural and policy-related aspects are cross-sectoral and require collaboration between municipalities, businesses, civil society, academia and residents The themes should not be seen as ready-made questions, but as open challenges. Based on the theme descriptions, the student formulates his or her own essay project, including purpose, questions and boundaries, in dialogue with his or her supervisor. Annual cycle Spring before the essay season Wexsus brings together societal actors, teachers and program coordinators to identify themes and challenges. Early in the fall semester Application opens Information and Q&A webinar for students Autumn Wexsus processes applications and makes matches Admission notification sent out in November Kick-off for admitted students Spring Students write their essays and work in parallel in their clusters May Joint presentations and closing