What Is Excelerate and a Thesis Collaboration?

There is a lot of value creation for both students and companies through thesis collaborations. Excelerate Careers aims to become the default platform that students use when transitioning from student to work life, and for companies to hire talented graduates.

Katrine Lionett Pedersen
2021-02-08

So, what is Excelerate Careers and how does it work? Excelerate Careers is an online platform founded in August 2019, which connects students with companies via thesis collaborations on bachelor’s, master’s, and candidate’s programs. 

The process is the following: 

  • A student or a student group signs up and lists a thesis topic. 
  • A company who has joined the Excelerate platform as well will reach out to the student/student group. 
  • An interview/meeting between the company and the student(s) takes place.
  • Subsequently, both parties can agree on a thesis collaboration through Excelerate Careers.

This kind of collaboration will benefit both parties since students can connect with relevant companies to write their thesis about and furthermore write about something they are genuinely interested in. By turn, companies might find a potential new hire, who fits the company. Thus, the thesis collaboration can further students’ careers. Simultaneously, the company can acquire the latest knowledge and research on a specific topic that is relevant to them.

CBS Excelerate Careers and thesis collaborations
The Excelerate logo in front of CBS’ main faculty at Solbjerg Plads. Photo by Fausto Bottini

Benefits for Students Using Excelerate

We have listed all the benefits you’ll get as a student by using Excelerate for a thesis collaboration:

  • Our platform enables students to get greater outreach to companies they could not reach before, eliminating the disadvantage of having a limited professional network as a student. 
  • The students are deciding their thesis topic and the broader perspective. The premise for the collaboration is an initial conversation between the student and the company about the details. 
  • The students are driving the process and they decide how to balance theory and practice to satisfy both universities’ and the companies’ requirements. 
  • The students will get hands-on experience working with a company and create real solutions to real problems.
  • Through a thesis collaboration on Excelerate, the students will increase their opportunity for getting a job after graduating, thus accelerating their careers. The companies see the thesis collaboration as an opportunity to find future employees that fit into their company.
Excelerate Careers and thesis collaborations
Photo by Fausto Bottini

Benefits for Companies Using Excelerate

By-turn there is also a list of benefits for the companies using Excelerate for thesis collaborations with students:

  • We have based our matching around a potential future role the company is looking for and the thesis topic. Thus, it’s easier for companies to hire skillful graduates and further careers after a thesis collaboration has ended.
  • If the company chooses to hire the student(s) after the collaboration has ended, the company will save both the time and money that is usually associated with recruiting a new employee.
  • The companies will obtain the newest knowledge and research on a topic that is relevant for them, which possibly can be used in their daily operations.
  • The pre-collaboration workload is on the students, e.g. coming up with a thesis topic, conducting desk research, developing the problem area, and etc. That eliminates the time companies usually spend on formulating a thesis description. 
Excelerate Careers and thesis collaborations.
Photo by Fausto Bottini

The Outcome

Excelerate connects students with companies via thesis collaborations to further passionate students’ careers. With Excelerate Careers, the graduate unemployment rate will decrease. As a graduate, you will have the opportunity to obtain your first job faster and get a position, which will match your skills and interests. Moreover, due to previous collaboration, you will be familiar with the company’s culture and working processes. 

On the other hand, the company will get to know the student. By knowing what the student stands for, the company can make a proper job offer. Hence, companies will also decrease the risk of making a bad hire and save both time and money when hiring graduates by using Excelerate. It’s one of Excelerate’s main goals; to minimize bad hires and further passionate students’ careers through thesis collaborations.

ITU Excelerate Careers and thesis collaborations.
The Excelerate Careers logo at the IT University of Copenhagen. Photo by Fausto Bottini

Current Situation and Future Prospects

Excelerate is currently open for students enrolling at all Danish Universities: University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School, Technical University of Denmark, IT University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, Aalborg University, and Roskilde University. 

Are you ready to use Excelerate for your thesis?