Students get the opportunity to present their master's theses in front of a broader audience in a conference-style format. In a preparatory session they get briefed about how to present research at a coference and how to provide constructive feedback as a discussant.

The course strengthens students' skills to

• present their own research,
• explain results clearly and concisely,
• answer questions related to their own research,
• deal with criticism,
• develop further their research projects based upon constructive feedback,
• provide constructive feedback on other students' projects.

As personal participation is essential for this course, attendance during the one-day event is required.

The first session of the course (preparatory session), is typically conducted online. The main "conference" itself is held on-campus. However, students who no longer live in Austria have the option to participate online.

Each student presents her/his master's thesis and acts a discussant for the thesis of another student. In a preparatory session, students learn how to prepare a presentation at a conference and how to discuss constructively other people's research.

Presentations are thematically grouped into panels. The instructor of the course acts as the chair of the panels. After each presentation, a student discussant briefly comments on the research, and questions are taken from the audience.

Active participation is necessary. This includes a presentation of the thesis, commenting on another student's project, and being an active member of the audience. Students do not get a numerical grade for this course, but rather obtain a certification for having successfully completed the course (pass/fail).

As a prerequisite for the course, the thesis should be already completed or at an advanced stage: Students presenting at the Master's Thesis Conference have a supervisor, their research questions is clearly defined and the literature research is largely complete. 

The main results of the analysis have already been obtained:

• For an empirical project: The central results of the estimations already exist and are ready for presentation.
•  For a theoretical project: The analysis of the main model is already largely completed.
• For a survey of existing literature: The analysis of the main body of the literature is already complete and the student has drawn her/his own conclusions.

The written text need not be finished yet. Revisions and extensions of the analysis are still possible.

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This is an advanced course for students about to finish their studies in the Master's Program Economics.

The Master's Thesis Conference consist of two parallel courses taking place at the same time. In order to put together a well balanced program, the presentations will be grouped thematically and some students will be shifted accordingly (to the parallel course).