Mentoring programme

Your master's programme offers a lot of freedom of choice. Your mentor and if applicable your study advisor can help you make the right choices as you plan your studies, e.g. helping to choose the basic and advanced courses offered by our department as well as those courses offered by other departments that fit your area of specialization. In order to be at your side from the beginning, we have established the so-called mentor and orientation meetings. 

Who is my mentor?

You are free to choose your mentor yourself. The best way to find the right mentor is to take a look at the descriptions of our pre-defined specializations and check the mentor recommendations there. For more detailed information or if you do not want to follow one of our pre-defined specializations check the websites of our research groups. This will give you an idea of our professors’ research areas and interests and make it easier for you to choose a mentor who can relate to your study and project interests.

Are these orientation and mentor meetings obligatory?

Yes! Depending on when you started your studies, more than one meeting with mentor and/or study advisor is obligatory. However, the meetings have an advisory character only. Written confirmations of these meetings will be submitted to the departmental examination office. The submission of these forms are required to properly register for your exams in the first semester and for your master’s thesis.

How to submit the documentation of a mentoring/orientation meeting

You can download the forms from our website. Remember to submit the documentation of a mentoring/orientation meeting in due time. Without a recorded mentor/orientation meeting in ZEuS it is not possible to register for the final thesis! Please submit the form to the examination office of the Department of Computer Science (PZ 811) or send it via email to mastercis.inf@uni-konstanz.de.

When should the meetings take place?

If you started in the two year programme summer semester 2020 or later (PO 2020)

The orientation talk takes place preferably at the beginning of your studies as this meeting should help you to plan your studies.

  • If you have completed your bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information Engineering here in Konstanz:
    You can choose to have the orientation talk either with the departmental study advisor or with your mentor. You need to hand in a signed orientation talk report. One signature is required - either from your study advisor or from your mentor.
     
  • If you have completed your bachelor’s degree at another university:
    The orientation talk then actually consists of two talks: The first talk should take place at the beginning of the first semester with your study advisor. The second talk is with a mentor and should take place in the middle of the first semester. You need to hand in the signed orientation talk report. Two signatures are required - one from your study advisor and one from your mentor.
     
  • Applies to all students:
    Another meeting (mentor talk) should take place at the end of the second semester, or at least before registering for the master’s project. In this meeting, a more specific specialization as well as the aims of the master’s project and ideas for the master’s thesis should be discussed. The confirmation of a completed mentoring talk is included in the registration form for the master’s project.

If you started in the two year programme in or before winter semester 2019/20 or are in the one year programme (PO 2015)

The first meeting with your mentor should take place preferably at the beginning of your first semester but latest before you register for your master's project. You need to hand in the mentor meeting report to be able to properly register for the exams. Further meetings are highly recommended, especially to discuss the topic and aims of the master's project and the master's thesis but are not obligatory.