Project work

It is desirable that students have completed the teaching component of the master’s degree, given that all the knowledge acquired throughout the teaching component is important for the development of the Project Work.

Acceptance of enrollment in the Non-Teaching Component (CNL) is subject to approval in at least 80% of the CE’s teaching subjects

Given the specificity of this Non-Teaching CU, traditional “Teaching-Learning Methodologies” (TLM) will not be applicable. Therefore, the MEA of the CU articulated with the pedagogical model, are performed by the Supervisor and/or Co-supervisor(s) and Supervisor of the entity for which the project is proposed (if any), and the student must meet regularly with this/them. These MEA are:

TLM1: Individual guidance sessions, focused on personalized monitoring and discussion of the project development (literature review, research methodologies and data analysis and applicability of tools for this purpose (SPSS, NVivo, R, Biblioshiny, Power BI, etc.)) and on solving specific problems related to the theme of the Project Work, promoting the exchange of ideas between students, Advisor and/or Co-Advisor(s) and Supervisor and the development of critical thinking and analytical skills necessary for empirical research (LO1, LO2 and LO3).

TLM2: Continuous and structured feedback at the writing stages of the Project Work, including detailed reviews of the plan (Project Work proposal), preliminary chapters, implementation and the final Project Work report (LO4).

TLM3: Simulations of the defense of the Project Work, allowing students to improve their oral communication and argumentation before the Evaluation Jury (OA5).

Demonstration of the coherence of teaching and assessment methodologies with the learning objectives of the UC

– OA1, OA2 and OA3: Orientation sessions (MEA1) support problem identification, project planning, construction of theoretical frameworks, application of methodologies and analytical techniques.

– OA4: Continuous feedback (MEA2) reinforces the structuring and writing of the Project Work, ensuring the technical and scientific quality of the report.

– OA5: Defense simulations (MEA3) develop communication and argumentation skills, preparing students for evaluation before the jury.

Assessment:

The combination of written work (partial or total), with the simulation of oral presentation and continuous participation ensures that the objectives are achieved effectively.

OBSERVATIONS:

A) ADVISOR / CO-ADVISOR OF PROJECT WORK:

1. The Project Work should be guided by:

a) Professor at ISCAC/IPC holding a doctorate degree

b) ISCAC/IPC professor holding the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of 31 August

c) National or foreign specialist of merit in the respective scientific area, recognized as such by the CTC

d) Professors and researchers with doctorates from other institutions.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 c), the ISCAC CTC may consider a specialist to be anyone who holds an academic degree and, cumulatively:

a) Works or has worked in the area of ​​the CE in question, having at least 10 years of professional experience in that area, with effective practice for at least 5 years in the last 10 years;

b) Present a professional curriculum of proven quality and relevance, duly confirmed and accepted by the scientifically competent body of the higher education institution;

c) Do not hold an indefinite-term contract with a higher education institution.

3. The Supervisor must belong to the predominant scientific area of ​​the CE*.

4. The members designated in paragraph 1 c) and d) must preferably be co-supervisors. If they do not belong to ISCAC/IPC, their Curriculum Vitae must be submitted when submitting the Project Work proposal (indicating, if applicable, the ORCID/Ciência ID). *

5. The Supervisor/Co-supervisors are appointed by the CTC upon proposal by the DC-MMNI.

6. The supervisor is responsible for:

a) Assess, in the first phase, the Project Work proposal presented by the student and suggest changes if necessary;

b) Accompany the student in the different phases of the development of the Project Work, providing technical and scientific support and recommending further study of aspects that seem relevant.

* Students can suggest a supervisor, however, it is up to DC-MMNI to decide whether to propose it to the CTC for validation.

B) SUPERVISION OF PROJECT WORK:

1. The supervisor is a professional with competence in the area of ​​project development, including company executives, consultants, auditors and other elements as long as they are duly approved by DC-MMNI.

2. The supervisor will be invited to attend the public tests, but will not be a member of the jury.

Project Work is one of the 3 devices for carrying out the Non-Teaching Component (CNL) of the Study Cycle (CE).

The main objective of this curricular unit (UC) is to develop a project with an innovative approach, with relevance to society and organizations and that contributes to the evolution of knowledge in the scientific areas of the CE, namely in Marketing and International Business Management. By developing the Project Work, we seek to enhance professional development and, at the same time, stimulate in the student the capacity for initiative, autonomy in research and the ability to apply the knowledge acquired by the master’s student in the academic part of the master’s degree.

Learning Objectives (LO):

OA1 Identify a practical problem and propose creative and innovative solutions based on scientific knowledge.

OA2 Develop skills to plan, implement and evaluate a project applied in the organizational context.

OA3 Integrate methodologies and tools appropriate for the development of practical projects.

LO4 Produce a technical report with evidence-based analysis, results and recommendations.

OA5 Present and defend project work in a well-founded and clear manner.

Skills/Abilities/Aptitudes (c):

C1 Apply theoretical concepts to practical problems in the organizational context (LO1 and LO2).

C2 Assess feasibility with regard to data collection/availability/access and use data collection and analysis methods to inform project decisions (LO3).

C3 Develop skills in developing applied research, technical writing and oral presentation (LO4 and LO5).

Program Contents (CP):

1 Definition and delimitation of the design problem

2 Literature review and analysis of organizational context

3 Project planning: methodologies and schedule

4 Project implementation: tools and techniques applied

5 Evaluation of results and formulation of recommendations

6 Structuring and writing the technical report

7 Preparation and public presentation of the project

Note: In the context of a non-teaching unit, the traditional “Program” does not apply, as each student will focus their activity on a specific topic, distinct from the topic of the other master’s students.

Demonstration of the coherence of the program contents with the learning objectives of the UC:

CP1 and CP2: They are related to OA1 and OA2, when addressing the definition of the design problem and the theoretical framework necessary for practical analysis.

CP3: Aligned with OA2 and OA3, it focuses on planning and choosing methodologies for project execution.

CP4: Supports OA3 and OA4, ensuring the practical application of tools and techniques in project development.

CP5: Relates to OA4, ensuring the evaluation of results and the formulation of evidence-based recommendations.

CP6 and CP7: Support OA5, preparing students to write the final report and publicly defend the project, with clear and well-founded communication.

OBSERVATIONS:

A) PROJECT WORK PROPOSAL:

1. The Project Work proposal and the documents required for the process for its approval must be submitted for consideration by the Directorate/Coordination of the Master’s Degree in Marketing and International Business (DC-MMNI), by the last day of the special CE examination period. These documents must be submitted through the Academic Management Platform – Academic Management Services, by means of a request addressed to DC-MMNI, respecting the specific forms that are published on the website of those services, namely:

– Proposal for a Project Work of an original scientific nature and specially carried out for this purpose

– Supervisor/Co-supervisor Acceptance Term

– Curriculum Vitae of the Supervisor/Co-Supervisor (preferably including ORCID or Ciência ID) if not a professor at ISCAC/IPC.

– Curriculum Vitae of the Supervisor of the Entity where the Project Work will be carried out, if applicable (preferably including ORCID or Ciência ID, if applicable).

Note: It is recommended that the student uses the template available on the Academic Management Services website for the final work for the Project Work proposal.

2. DC-MMNI will pronounce itself on the master’s student’s proposal:

– In case of negative assessment by DC-MMNI, the student must submit a new proposal and will be notified of the decision through the Academic Management Services.

– In case of positive assessment by DC-MMNI, the process must be submitted for approval by the Technical-Scientific Council (CTC).

3. The Project Work proposal must contain at least the following elements:

i) Cover (Project title, Student name (full), ID number and course, Name of supervisor(s)/co-supervisor(s)/institution, and submission date)

ii) Executive Summary (Concise summary of the problem, objectives, methodology and expected results)

iii) Introduction (Contextualization and relevance of the design problem, General and specific objective(s), Research questions and hypotheses, if applicable)

iv) Brief theoretical framework* (Main theoretical concepts and studies relevant to the topic, Identification of gaps in the literature and justification of the project [relevance of the chosen topic and expected contributions])

v) Proposed methodology (Identification and description of the methodological approach (quantitative, qualitative or mixed), Data collection and analysis methods, Tools and techniques to be used)

vi) Expected Results (Potential impact of the project in practical and/or theoretical terms)

vii) Planned Structure of the Project Work

viii) Work schedule (Stages and detailed project schedule [Main activities to be developed and their schedule])

ix) Conclusion

x)References(following APA7th standard) ***

B) PROJECT WORK

If the proposal is approved by the CTC, the student will be notified by the Academic Management Services via Inforestudante/institutional email of this decision, and may, from that moment on, complete the proposed work plan. The Project Work may be prepared individually or be an integral part of a larger work, as long as the individual works are clearly identified and complementary; however, all works are presented and defended independently.

THEProject work can be developed in partnership with institutions and companies.

To implement this CNL Master’s device, the student must prepare an original Project Work specially designed for this purpose.

THEFinal Project Work must include at least the following parts, following the template available on the Academic Management Services website:

i) Cover / Title Page (Project title, Student’s full name, identification number and course, Name of supervisor(s)/co-supervisor(s)/Institution and submission date)

ii) Declaration of non-plagiarism (disclaimer)

iii) Abstract and Keywords (Summary of the work, highlighting the main objectives, methodology, results and conclusions) [in PT-PT and EN]

iv) General Index

v) Index of Figures, Index of Tables, List of abbreviations, acronyms and acronyms (if applicable and on separate pages)

vi) Introduction (Brief reference to the theoretical topic framing the work, brief presentation of the entity for which the project was developed, Survey and problematization (Research Problem and associated issues pre-defined and/or evidenced by the reality of the organization, Contextualization of the problem, Objectives of the work), Relevance of the Project (Practical and/or theoretical importance of the project) and Structure of the written text)

vii) Literature review* (Review of scientific and technical literature on the theoretical topic (Definition of adopted concepts, In-depth discussion of theoretical and technical concepts, relevant studies, conceptual models, applicable techniques, etc.), Link between the literature and the project objectives, formulation of hypotheses arising from the literature review that are intended to be tested during the execution of the project, summary of the main conclusions drawn from the literature review)

viii) Methodology (Details of the approaches, methods, techniques and tools used to collect data, procedures and data processing to generate information, Justification of the methodological choice)

ix) Presentation of the Applied Case Study (narrative of the company’s history**, organizational reality, strategic, functional and inter-relational analysis focusing on the predominant functions in the company’s activity, relevance of the resolution of the research question for the project’s host entity);

x) Project Execution (Description of activities developed during the project, Application of methodologies and tools described)

xi) Results

xii) Discussion (Critical analysis/interpretation of the results obtained, comparison of the views of the literature in comparison with the organizational reality analyzed/results obtained with the project, behavioral, cultural or strategic gaps and deviations, future development measures, etc.),

xiii) Conclusion (Summary of the main objectives versus main results achieved, contributions to theory, contributions to marketing/management practice, contributions to the entity for which the project was developed, limitations of the project, suggestions for future research or actions)

xiv) References (following APA7th standard) ***

xv) Annexes/Appendices (if any) [e.g. data collection instruments, extensive tables, among other supplementary materials]

Notes:

* The student, when preparing the Theoretical Framework/Literature Review, must give priority to the use of references published in the last 5 years included in academic databases such as Scopus and Web-of-Science.

** To describe the economic and financial structure of the host institution, the student can, for example, use databases such as ORBIS or SABI.

*** The student must ensure the correct application of the APA7th citation standard in the body of the text of the work and in the final List of References, for which it is strongly recommended to use a reference manager (e.g.: Endnote or Mendley). For example, at the end of the body of the work and before the annexes or appendices, the references must be listed in general alphabetical order of the first author’s surname, ordered regardless of whether it is an article, book, book chapter or web page (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references).

**** All figures and tables must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order they appear in the text. A caption must be included in the case of and figures. Tables must have a title. All figures and tables must indicate the bibliographic source. The APA7th standard does not cover elements such as graphs, charts, etc.

***** The written work may be written in Portuguese from Portugal (PT-PT) or in English (EN-US), and the student must take care to use clear, technical-scientific language, without spelling and/or sentence construction errors (for which it is recommended to use a spell checker, e.g.: Microsoft Word Corrector, Grammarly, Deepl, etc.). All terms in a language different from that of the rest of the text must be marked in italics.

TYPE OF PROJECT WORK:

Within the themes framed in the areas of marketing and international business, each master’s student will develop an applied project, oriented towards their professional development.

The result may be the writing of a real organizational case, following the scientific method in modeling reality, and should be an original and innovative creation, in accordance with the case study methodology (Yin, 1994; 2001 and Stake, 2000). The choice should focus on an organizational phenomenon with unique or singular contours, and at the same time be able to be isolated from its context and reflect a holistic view of the organizational reality under study. The case should also identify a problem or problems to be solved, and should be a critical and revealing work of complex phenomena, retaining the holistic characteristics of real life.

This modality may also consist of the preparation of a strategic or operational development project for a real company, aimed at outlining future development paths for the whole or part of the organization, i.e., it may focus on proposing measures for global strategic reorganization and reorientation, or focus on a specific functional area of ​​the company when this is justified for the organization.

Thus, project work can take the following forms, for example:

a) Case study in marketing

It is characterized by the identification of a problem or strategic challenge in marketing or international business.

It includes justifying the relevance of the topic, identifying the company or target market and characterizing the surrounding competitive or cultural context.

It presents a critical analysis based on theoretical concepts and good practices, accompanied by applicable recommendations.

b) Case study in international business

It is characterized by the analysis of a problem or opportunity in companies or international markets.

It includes the identification and justification of the relevance of the topic, characterization of the organizational, regulatory or cultural context, and the critical analysis of business strategies.

It presents practical recommendations based on marketing theories, international management and good business practices.

c) International marketing plan

It is characterized by the creation of a strategic project that addresses a positioning and expansion strategy or penetration of a brand, product or service in international markets.

It includes the definition of strategic objectives, market analysis, market segmentation, positioning strategies, marketing mix and performance control metrics.

It must demonstrate innovation, alignment with global trends and operational and financial viability and control metrics to assess the success of the proposed actions.

d) Internationalization plan

It is characterized by the development of a strategic project aimed at expanding a company into global markets.

It includes the analysis of potential markets, definition of entry strategies, adaptation of the marketing mix, risk assessment and control metrics.

The plan must demonstrate the integration of global trends, sustainability and innovation, as well as financial and operational viability.

e) Organizational design applied to marketing

It is characterized by the creation, adaptation or improvement of organizational processes in the marketing area.

It may include developing digitalization strategies, improving export or import processes, adapting campaigns to multicultural markets or implementing customer management (CRM) systems in new markets.

It must be aligned with the organization’s objectives and have a measurable impact on the efficiency or effectiveness of operations.

f) Organizational design applied to international management

It is characterized by the creation, adaptation or improvement of organizational processes related to operations in international business.

It may include developing global logistics systems, international value chain management strategies, optimizing export/import processes or adapting human resources practices for multicultural teams.

The project must align with the organization’s strategic objectives and demonstrate impact in terms of efficiency, innovation or global competitiveness.

Given the specificity of this UC, the only evaluation methodology (MA) will be the following:

MA: Public Defense Exam of Project Work

When evaluating the Project Work, the following elements must be taken into consideration:

- Scientific Quality of Project Work

- Quality of argumentation and oral presentation in public defense.

- Participation in guidance sessions and delivery of the Project Work components (e.g.: research proposal and preliminary chapters), reported by the Supervisor.

The classification is assigned by the Jury of the public test on a numerical scale from 0 to 20 points.

Approval Criteria:Final grade equal to or greater than 10 points

OBSERVATIONS:

Relevant aspects related to the Assessment of the Project Work UC, under the Academic Regulations of the 2nd Cycle of Studies of the IPC, Regulations of the Courses of the 2nd Cycle of Studies (Masters) of the ISCAC and Order on the Procedure – CNL of the Masters courses of the ISCAC **:

A) REQUEST FOR CNL EVALUATION TESTS:

Once the preparation of the Project Work is completed, the student must request the President of ISCAC to carry out the tests by submitting the following elements to the Academic Management Platform - Academic Management Services (via inforestudante - Submission of Dissertations/Theses):

- the original scientific project work, specially prepared for this purpose, in PDF version, which will be submitted for consideration by the Jury.

- Written opinion issued by the supervisor and co-supervisor(s), when applicable, certifying that the Project Work meets the conditions to be subject to evaluation by the jury.

- Written opinion issued by the supervisor, if there is one.

- Declaration of knowledge of the mandatory deposit of the Project Work in RCAAP - Open Access Scientific Repository of Portugal.

- Curriculum vitae.

Forms and Templates:

- The aforementioned documents (Project Work, Supervisor/Co-Supervisor Opinion, RCAAP Declaration) must comply with the specific forms that are published on the Academic Management Services website.

- When formatting the Project Work, the standards provided must be followed, except in cases where existing protocols provide otherwise.

Notice:

B) JURY:

1. The jury is made up of three to five members, one of whom must be the supervisor.

2. Whenever there is more than one supervisor, only one may be a member of the jury.

3. The members of the jury must be experts in the field in which the Project Work is included and are appointed from among nationals or foreigners holding a doctorate degree, holders of the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of August 31, or by experts considered as such by the CTC.

4. The jury will be chaired by the president of the CTC, who may delegate this power to a professor in the dominant scientific area of ​​the CE, preferably holding a doctorate.

5. The jury for assessing the Project Work is appointed by the CTC upon proposal by the DC-MMNI, after submission of the request for tests.

6. After notification of the jury by the CTC, it will decide on the acceptance, reformulation or rejection of the Project Work.

7. In the event of a decision to reformulate, the student is given a single opportunity to submit the reformulated version that will be subject to testing on the academic management platform. To this end, the student has up to 30 consecutive days after notification by the Academic Management Services through the Academic Management Platform to submit the reformulated version.

8. If the jury rejects the revised version of the Project Work, mentioned in the previous point, the process ends and the respective agenda must be released with the mention NRC (does not meet the conditions).

8. Jury meetings may be held by videoconference.

C) PUBLIC TEST

1. The public act of discussion of the Project Work takes place after the delivery of the complete process of requesting evidence and can only take place with the presence of a minimum of three members of the jury, with the presence of the president and the main arguer being mandatory.

2. The public discussion is led by a main debater, although all members of the jury may participate.

3. The public discussion cannot exceed 90 (ninety) minutes, distributed as follows:

a) An oral presentation by the student, summarizing the content of the work carried out and highlighting its objectives, means used to carry it out and main conclusions, with a maximum duration of 20 (twenty) minutes;

b) The remaining time must be distributed equally between the jury and the student.

4. The defense test for the non-teaching component may only be taken after passing all the teaching subjects.

5. The conclusion of the CNL, with the completion of the respective public test, must not exceed December 31st of the calendar year in which the regulatory deadline defined for such conclusion (of the non-teaching component) ends or resulting from its possible extension.

6. In the public act of defense of the Project Work, the president of the jury may authorize the participation of any number of members via videoconference, provided that there are technical conditions for their full participation in the work.

7. In the event of approval in public examinations, without prejudice to the decision taken, the jury may determine, in writing, that the candidate introduces minor changes to the Project Work, which improve it and which have resulted from the public discussion. To this end, the candidate will have a maximum period of 15 consecutive days to submit the final version of the document, with the president of the jury being responsible for confirming the respective changes before the final classification is released.

8. The presentation of medical certificates does not constitute grounds for failure to meet the deadline for submitting the Project Work.

9. In cases of hospital admission, parental leave, or contagious disease, which implies exclusion from school, the student may request a postponement for the period corresponding to the hospital admission, the duration of the period of parental leave taken by the student up to a maximum of 120 days, or the duration of the aforementioned illness, upon presentation of proof of hospital admission, parental leave, or a medical certificate issued by the Health Delegate of the area of ​​residence, proving that the student suffered from a contagious disease implying exclusion from school.

2. The supervisor will be invited to attend the public tests, but will not be part of the jury.

D) JURY DECISION

1. Once the tests have been completed, the jury meets to assess and deliberate, through a reasoned vote, with no abstentions permitted.

2. The jury's decisions are taken by a majority of its members.

3. Minutes shall be drawn up of the jury meeting, which shall include the members' votes and the respective grounds.

4. In the event of a tie, the president of the jury has the deciding vote.

** This document does not exempt the reading of the aforementioned regulations.

NAO