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Text 2 in this 3-part series of texts focuses on the benefits of the GATE model utilized in Metropolia Industrial Management (IM) Master's Program for producing the thesis. The model is also used in the IM Bachelor level thesis process. The model centers on a structured thesis process for teaching the methodology and research skills needed for carrying out a business project for a case company and producing the thesis. The first text dealt with the benefits of the overall degree program, which is designed to make each component work in favor of the students and the projects they have undertaken to complete in one academic year. Text 3 will take a closer look at the specific benefits of one key component of the GATE model, i.e. the Writing Clinics providing one-on-one guidance and using the IM Thesis template as a key tool. The main aim of this blog series is to share my observations and learnings with instructors interested in adopting scientifically sound, systematic and holistic research and business principles – that produce quality results – into their pedagogical toolbox. Moreover, to quote Dr. Juha Haimala, the Head of IM Degree Program, “the principles are highly applicable to any real business case, not merely higher education Master’s studies.” Components of GATE Model The Metropolia IM Master’s thesis is typically a real-life, practical development project carried out for the Master’s student’s employer organization. To tackle the development project, the Master’s Thesis GATE model is based on the idea of dividing the thesis process into 7 well-defined and logical stages called GATES that help the students put together the thesis chapters one by one. The 7 GATEs and their corresponding thesis chapters are shown in Table 1: Table 1. The seven gates and corresponding thesis chapters. Number of Gate Content of Gate Corresponding thesis chapter 1 Scoping  Introduction 2 Project planning  Methods and Materials 3 Current State Analysis  Current State Analysis on Case Company Problem x 4 Literature  Conceptual Framework on Thesis topic x 5 Solution development  Initial Proposal for Problem x 6 Validating solution  Validation of Initial Proposal 7 Putting it together  Conclusions The names of the thesis chapters naturally vary somewhat between students but the above provides a middle-of-the-road idea of what the headings of the main chapters could look like. Image 1 further down in the text depicts the entire GATE model in detail, but first a quick reminder is perhaps needed of what an individual Gate is. GATE = Instructor Input and Student Output As described briefly in Text 1 of this series, a GATE is a preparation to allow the student to create one key component of the Master’s Thesis at a time, ensuring timely completion. Each of the 7 GATES includes both instructor input and student output and consists of five elements A-E, as illustrated in Table 2: Table 2. What is a GATE? GATE Instructor input A-C GATE Student output D-E A. Focused methodology class (Applied Research and Development Skills) B. Research clinic: one-on-one meeting with thesis supervisor C. Writing Clinic: one-on-one guidance with language supervisor D. GATE presentation in class E. GATE text delivery The 7-gate model has its foundation in the Gate model developed originally by Robert Cooper (2008), Professor of marketing, for new product innovation and development. In Cooper’s model new products go through various stages and steps from idea to launch and the ultimate objective is to achieve improved cycle times and commercially successful final products. For the Master’s Thesis GATE model, the ultimate objective is to help the Master’s students carry out a real-life, highly practical development project for their employer organization that provides evidence-based solutions to enable management level decision making. This is done by following a scientifically sound (see e.g. Reimann, Järvinen 2007) thesis process the outcome of which is the triangulated thesis report that meets Metropolia criteria. Image 1 illustrates in detail the 7 Master’s thesis GATEs, which are explained in detail below the Image. The top row of boxes in Image 1 indicates the Instructor input for each GATE, namely GATE teaching and clinics with one-on-one supervision. The second row of boxes illustrates the GATE names. The white boxes in the middle describe the focus of each GATE and below the white boxes are the outcomes for each GATE. The boxes at the bottom indicate Student output for each GATE, namely GATE presentation and GATE text delivery. The text in red in Image 1 indicates the triangulated data collection points, i.e. data collected at three different stages of the thesis process and (often) from three different sets of stakeholders. Since the Metropolia IM Master’s thesis is a real-life, practical development project, the idea in GATE 1 is to first introduce the business context and the problem in the employer organization and then formulate the objective for the thesis. This becomes the first chapter of the thesis report: Introduction. GATE 2 defines the steps needed to reach the objective and describes the data collection and analysis plan, with Research Design as outcome. This becomes chapter 2 of the thesis report: Methods and Material.  As shown by the black arrows in Image 1, the order of GATEs 3 and 4 is interchangeable, depending on what the best approach for solving the thesis problem is. For clarity’s sake, let’s follow the order shown in Image 1. GATE 3 is then the current state analysis where data is collected for the first time, typically through interviews (DATA 1), followed by an in-depth analysis of the situation and problem at hand. As an outcome, the analysis typically reveals both strengths and weaknesses related to the situation. From the weaknesses thus identified, the student typically selects one or several crucial weaknesses for tackling in order to develop a solution. This becomes chapter 3 of the report: Current State Analysis on case company problem x. GATE 4 is about problem-focused search in relevant literature for ideas, tools and practices to tackle the weaknesses and help reach the objective. The outcome is the conceptual framework, and the thesis chapter is often also called Conceptual Framework on thesis topic x.  GATE 5 is for collecting data for the second time (DATA 2)  and for building a co-created initial proposal to tackle the problem, often through workshops in the employer organization. The initial proposal is based on the objective, the strengths and weaknesses revealed by the current state analysis and best practice suggested by relevant literature. The thesis chapter is called Initial Proposal for problem x. GATE 6 is the third data collection point (DATA 3). Here, the initial proposal is validated, i.e. piloted, tested or feedback is given by for example management-level stakeholders. The outcome is the validated solution, typically with slight fine-tunings to the initial proposal. The corresponding thesis chapter is Validation of Initial Proposal. GATE 7 is where all the different parts of the report are put together, including abstract, appendices, reference list and such. The last thesis chapter is called Conclusions and it provides an executive summary of the thesis and an evaluation of the trustworthiness of the thesis project. Once the thesis project and the report is complete, the students give their final GATE presentations, which have been built up ever since the first GATE. Benefits of GATE model Text 1 listed many benefits (such as on-time graduation) of the overall degree programme design for all three stakeholders, i.e. Master’s students, Industry and Metropolia. In addition to the benefits mentioned in text 1, we can see the following benefits from utilizing the GATE model:  Students well-defined and logical process that is “easy” to understand and adopt clarity of process allows efficient use of time and effort on the actual thesis topic clear and consistent tasks that keep building up to the final presentation and the thesis report gate-by-gate gate-by-gate supervisor feedback helping to stay on track and sharpen message Employer organizations evidence-based solutions to enable management level decision making Faculty clear roles and responsibilities well-defined and logical process that is “easy” to explain scientifically sound process that produces positive results I believe that adding value to each and every class/meeting with the students is the intent of any instructor who is committed to excellence. If this is you, implementing the principles of the GATE model to your professional context is certainly a valuable option as it is easily applicable to other disciplines. Alternatively, can you see this model working in your context slightly modified? This text provided an in-depth look into the IM Master’s thesis Gate model and its benefits. The last text in this series, Text 3, will follow shortly focusing on the specific benefits of the Writing Clinics providing one-on-one guidance and using the IM Thesis template as a key tool. References Cooper, R. (2008). “The Stage-Gate Idea-to-Launch Process–Update, What’s New and NexGen Systems,” in Journal of Product Innovation Management, Volume 25, Number 3, May 2008, pp 213-232 Järvinen, P. (2007). Action research is similar to design science. Quality & Quantity, 41, 37-54. Reimann, P. (2011). Design-Based Research. Methodological Choice and Design, 37-50. Rohweder, T. (2020). Applied Research and Development Skills. Gate 1 Teaching slides. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Delivered 18 September, 2020.

This is Text 1 in a 3-part series of texts focusing on the benefits of the Metropolia Industrial Management (IM) Master's Program’s overall design aimed at catering to professionals, often engineers or team leaders, looking to make a career leap from engineering toward management positions. The other two texts will take a closer look at two key components in the program. Text 2 will focus on the benefits of the Gate model utilized in the IM Thesis process and Text 3 on the specific benefits of the Writing Clinics providing one-on-one guidance and using IM Thesis template as a key tool. I have been part of this program for almost 10 years and for the past few years I have been mainly providing language and communication instruction and language guidance during the thesis process. The main aim of this blog series is to share my observations and learnings with instructors interested in adopting scientifically sound, systematic and holistic research and business principles – that produce quality results – into their pedagogical toolbox. Industrial Management Master’s Program The 1-year IM Master’s program is worth 60 cu altogether with one half of the credits earned from the common, specialization and optional courses (blue boxes) and the other half from the Thesis (orange boxes), as shown in Image 1 below. The substance teaching taking place in the fall term includes literature readings on several current management topics such as strategy and leadership, process development, supply chain management and performance management plus students’ specialization related topics. All of these are feeding particularly the theoretical section of the thesis, written and completed in the spring. Importantly, the program has been developed further every year ever since its inception in 2006. The development has been done using action research principles thus ensuring pedagogically and methodologically sound teaching and learning experiences for professional adult learners, for instance through learner empowerment and authenticity of material and activities (see Huhta 2010). Gate Model in Brief In practice, the students complete their studies in 9 months only, from September to May. This is why a systematic 7-Gate model has been designed to ensure timely graduation and a quality final product, i.e. a practical, logical and well-grounded Master’s thesis in Industrial Management. To guarantee a systematic approach to the thesis studies, the program applies key concepts and methods from design research/applied action research (see e.g. Saunders et al. 2016; Kananen 2013) as well as from product innovation and development through the application of a system called the Gate model (see Cooper 2008). Cooper, a Professor of marketing, originally created the gate system for moving new product development projects through the various stages and steps from idea to launch to achieve improved cycle times and commercially successful final products. Cooper’s system consists of gates, each with its own set of metrics and criteria for passing the gates, similar to quality-control checks in production. In the context of the IM Master’s thesis studies, the idea of gates has been harnessed to serve both the thesis instruction and writing process WHAT IS A GATE? As shown in Image 2, it is a preparation to allow the student to create one key component of the Master’s Thesis at a time, from Introduction to Conclusions. Each gate must be completed before moving on to the next Gate.  As Image 2 depicts, each Gate consists of Faculty input and student output and needs to be passed before moving to the next Gate. Let’s take Gate 1 as an example: Gate 1 faculty input is about Scoping the thesis project and thus the methodology class focuses on three key points: introducing the business context, identifying practical business problem and setting project objective. The first Gate 1 student output is a simple presentation slide explaining the business context, thesis objective and expected outcome of their thesis project and presenting it in class with immediate feedback from both peers and IM team in order to finetune the logic. The second Gate 1 student output is the Thesis Chapter 1 Introduction. It introduces the thesis topic to the reader from the perspective of the points mentioned above.  The Gate model proceeds in this fashion Gate by Gate until Gate 7, which completes the Thesis project. The 7 gates provide a blueprint for successfully producing and completing the different steps in the thesis process resulting in a quality outcome for all stakeholders, i.e. the student, the university and employer organization. The complete Gate model and how design research principles have been implemented to the Gate model will be explained in detail in text 2 of this series.  Students At the very center of the IM degree program are the students representing a number of leading industrial companies such as Kone, Outotec, Vaisala, Fortum and ABB, to mention only a few. The students have on average 5-6 years of work experience and so they bring with them their professional expertise for the benefit of all program participants. The students tend to quickly form quite a strong and active peer community of learners thanks to their varied competences and skills. Since the studies have been integrated into real-life, practical business projects from their employer organizations, the students are able to continue working while studying. In this sense, the nature of the IM Master’s program is quite exceptional, if compared for instance with Master’s programs in science universities where the IM Master’s students typically are 20 something students with no or very little industry expertise. Faculty On the faculty side, the three main instructors all have doctorate degrees and decades of work experience in expert and managerial positions in industrial organizations. The common, specialization and optional courses are taught individually by these instructors, whereas the Gate model Thesis instruction is organized around the concept of genuine integration of having all instructors in the IM team present in the classroom, including me as the language expert, with each instructor bringing their own expertise on the table. Teaching and guidance Tuition in the IM Master’s program is in English. In normal circumstances, the courses are heavily centered around contact teaching in the form of interactive lectures and class discussions, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic teaching has recently gone online. However, contact teaching will make a comeback the minute the recommendations for distance studies are removed as face-to-face contact teaching is the heart of the program. Other methods of studying include teamwork, class discussions, business simulations, self-study, workshops and seminars. The soul of the program is the amount of face-to-face consultancy and guidance from faculty members which provides the students with numerous opportunities for receiving individual advice, development and help in their learning process. Instead of exams, the students are given practical assignments that are graded individually. For grading the thesis, the grading committee consisting of the IM team members utilizes a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria as shown in the PDF document behind this link. Benefits in Nutshell The objective of the program design that is continuously developed based on best practise has been all along to produce a truly integrated, inspiring entity that brings value to all stakeholders. The benefits (Rohweder, 2020) of this systematic program design for all stakeholders are significant including: STUDENT On-time graduation Thesis quality Business development concept ”for life” INDUSTRY Professionals with systematic evidence-based problem solving skills METROPOLIA On-time graduating students Thesis quality Positive student feedback This here is obviously a win-win-win situation and the fruit of consistent and systematic development work.  This first text provided an overall view of the benefits of systematic program design in Metropolia Industrial Management Master’s Program. Text 2 of this 3-part series will continue from here in October by providing an in-depth look into the Gate model, the brains of the program. Text 3 will follow shortly after focusing on the specific benefits of the Writing Clinics providing one-on-one guidance and using IM Thesis template as a key tool. References Cooper, R. (2008) “The Stage-Gate Idea-to-Launch Process–Update, What’s New and NexGen Systems,” in Journal of Product Innovation Management, Volume 25, Number 3, May 2008, pp 213-232 Haimala, J. (2020). Industrial Management Studies 2020-21. Orientation Day slides. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Delivered 10 September, 2020. Huhta, M. (2010). Language and Communication for Professional Purposes: Needs Analysis Methods in Industry and Business and their Yield to Stakeholders. Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Helsinki University of Technology. Kananen, J. (2013). Design research (applied action research) as thesis research: A practical guide for thesis research. Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu Rohweder, T. (2020) Gate 1 Teaching slides. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Delivered 18 September, 2020. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business students. 7th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education.