SMUA5900 Master thesis Emneplan

The master's thesis takes the form of an independent, supervised research or development work in one of the key subject areas of the program and constitutes further specialization in either smart mobility or urban analytics. The thesis addresses relevant topics and challenges in research and practice. The master's thesis is a written report based on well-established and internationally acknowledged research principles and methods.

The master's thesis must take a scientific approach, and the results must contain novel elements in applied methods, application and knowledge gain. Each student or group of students will be assigned an internal supervisor, who will ensure that the project complies with research ethics principles and help students to formulate the research question and ensure quality in the collection and analysis of data. Guildeline for master's theses at the Faculty can be found here: Retningslinjer for masteroppgaver ved Fakultet for teknologi, kunst og design - Student - minside (oslomet.no)

The master's thesis builds on all the courses taught in the previous semesters. Students must have passed all their first-year exams before they are entitled to supervision on the work on their master's thesis.

After completing the master's thesis, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

The student:

• has in-depth knowledge in the field of smart mobility or urban analytics and specialized knowledge in the topic of the master thesis
• has in-depth knowledge of theories and methods of relevance to the topic of the master's thesis
• has knowledge of new solutions, technologies or processes in the field

Skills:

The student:

• is capable of critically analyzing different sources of information and using them to structure and formulate scientific arguments
• is capable of employing existing theories, methods and solutions as well as working independently in a practical and theoretical problem-solving fashion
• is capable of using relevant methods in research and for developing the thesis in an independent manner
• is capable of carrying out an independent, delimited research or development project under supervision and in accordance with applicable research ethical standards.

General competence:

The student:

• is capable of applying his/her knowledge and skills to new fields for the purpose of carrying out advanced tasks and projects
• is capable of communicating extensive independent work and masters the forms of expression used in the field
• is capable of communicating on issues, analyses and solutions in the field of smart mobility and urban analytics, both with specialists and with the general public
• is capable of contributing to new ideas and innovative processes

No formal requirements over and above the admission requirements.

The following required coursework must be approved before a student can take the exam:

A minimum of two milestone meetings between the student and supervisor.

This course features 10 weeks lectures with 10 parallel lab sessions to provide theoretical content and preliminary hands-on experience. The lab sessions will be preceded with one or two weeks of (primarily technical) preparatory sessions.

Urban mobility refers to the combination of land use, transportation, and technology resulting in the movement of people, goods, and information in our cities. The goals of urban mobility are to create safe, efficient, and sustainable transport systems that meet the needs of all residents. This course will train students to apply the appropriate methods and metrics for understanding and evaluating urban mobility systems from a holistic perspective, emphasizing the larger social, physical, and environmental implications of transportation.

This course provides an overview of urban mobility, its history, key components and functions, and metrics. Existing land uses and transport systems are the result of decades (and centuries) of development, as such this course will also help students to understand the wide variation in form and function of transport systems, and the range of challenges across these systems. Additionally, new technologies, such as increasing levels of connectivity and the emergence of autonomous vehicles, are sure to play important roles in urban mobility, but the implications of these technologies are not yet clear. This course gives students the requisite background to understand the pros and cons of a range of new and emerging technologies in urban mobility.

1) A final project report prepared individually or in groups of 2 (or more) students, approx. 15 - 20 pages (excluding appendices, including code and calculations), weighted 60%.

2) Oral presentation and examination (individually or in the same groups as for the written part) of the project report weighted 40%.

All assessment parts must be awarded a pass grade (E or better) to pass the course.

Assessment parts: 1) can be appealed, 2) cannot be appealed