Thank you for your interest in writing your thesis at the Chair of Explainable AI-Based Business Information Systems! We supervise Bachelor and Master theses whose topics are within the research focus of the chair. You can apply for one of the advertised topics or propose your own topic. Please read the following information carefully and familiarize yourself with our research before applying.
The thesis process at our chair follows the steps depicted in the figure below. Please review them carefully to understand what we expect from you.
| Step | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Application | You can apply for the currently advertised topics by the following deadlines:
We encourage you to submit your application before these deadlines. Applications must be submitted through the form at the bottom of the page. We will respond to all applications within two weeks at the latest. As a small team committed to providing intensive, high-quality supervision, we can only supervise a limited number of theses each semester. Priority will be given to students who have completed at least one course or seminar offered by our chair. |
| 2 | Proposal | If their application was successful, students should start working on a detailed thesis proposal. The proposal is very important, as it defines the research objectives and sets clear expectations for the thesis. The proposal must follow the provided template, be approximately 5 pages in length, and include the following elements:
Both the supervisor and Prof. Gnewuch will review the proposal and provide feedback to help students refine their research. Typically, proposals go through several iterations before being approved. However, this does not mean that everything in the proposal is final. If adjustments are needed during the writing phase, they can be made with the supervisor’s agreement. |
| 3 | Registration | After the proposal is accepted, students can officially register their thesis. To do so, they must fill out the official registration form, available here. The completed form, along with all required documents (e.g., matriculation confirmation), should be submitted to the supervisor. The form will then be signed by Prof. Gnewuch and forwarded to the Examinations Office. |
| 4 | Colloquium | Participation in the monthly thesis colloquium is mandatory for all students writing their Bachelor or Master thesis at our chair. The colloquium is designed to promote exchange between students working on similar topics and/or using the same research methods. It also provides an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their presentation and feedback skills. The colloquium usually takes place on the last Wednesday of each month. Invitations are sent out once students have officially registered for their thesis. |
| 5 | Presentations | In the colloquium, students present their thesis projects three times (pitch, intermediate, and final presentation). The presentations should use the provided template (see below) and adhere to the following guidelines:
Participation in the thesis colloquium is mandatory for all students, even if they are not presenting. |
| 6 | Submission | Theses must be submitted in bound form to the Examinations Office (more information can be found here). In addition, students must submit a digital PDF version of their thesis as well as all relevant materials (e.g., data) via email to their supervisor. |
Below is a list of open, ongoing, and completed topics. Please follow the links for more detailed information.
| Topic | Type | Supervisor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligent Explanations in LLM-based Data Assistants | Bachelor | Ana-Maria Sîrbu | Taken |
| Perceptions of LLMs for Data Analysis | Bachelor | Ana-Maria Sîrbu | Taken |
| LLM-based Assistants in Data Analysis | Bachelor | Ana-Maria Sîrbu | Taken |
| Systematic Literature Review on Machine Learning Applications in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises | Bachelor | Philipp Hansen | Taken |
| Exploring Customers' Explainability Needs in (AI-based) Product Recommendations | Bachelor | Philipp Hansen | Taken |
| Design and Evaluation of an XAI Dashboard for Corporate Decision-Making in e-Commerce | Bachelor | Philipp Hansen | Taken |
| Mental Models in Human-AI Interaction | Bachelor | Prof. Gnewuch | Ongoing |
| Generative AI Copilots in the Workplace | Master | Prof. Gnewuch | Ongoing |
| Optimizing RAG Chatbot Performance: A Data-Driven Approach to Prompt Engineering | Master | Prof. Gnewuch | Ongoing |
| Bridging Creativity and Automation: Exploring Human-AI Interaction in AI-Assisted Data Storytelling Systems | Master | Prof. Gnewuch | Ongoing |
| Designing a Multi-Modal Learning Assistant: Integrating a Retrieval-Augmented Generation Framework into Large Language Models | Bachelor | Prof. Gnewuch | Completed |
| Market-Driven Resource Management System for Development Projects (in Cooperation with Siemens Energy) | Master | Prof. Gnewuch | Completed |
| The Role of Automatic Versus User-Invoked Explanations in Enhancing User Trust and Adoption of Large Language Models | Master | Prof. Gnewuch | Completed |
Own topic: You are also welcome to suggest your own topic. Please review the research projects that our team members are currently working on and reach out to them directly with a 1-page research proposal (including your research question/objective and planned method) and your application documents (CV, transcript of records, letter of motivation).
External thesis: The chair also offers the possibility to write theses in cooperation with companies (referred to as “external” theses). However, it is essential that the thesis topic aligns with our research focus and meets our scientific standards. External theses must follow the same process and are evaluated according to the same criteria as any other thesis. If you are interested in writing an external thesis, please submit a 1-page research proposal (including your research question/objective and planned method), a letter of support of your proposal from the company, and your application documents (CV, transcript of records, letter of motivation) to office-aibis@uni-passau.de.
All theses must be written in English and follow the official template provided here. Unless otherwise specified, the American Psychological Association (APA) style (7th edition) is used. We also recommend the use of a reference management tool such as Zotero, Mendeley, or Citavi.
A Bachelor thesis is expected to have a length of 30 pages (+/- 10%), excluding cover page, abstract, table of content, list of figures and tables, references, and appendices.
A Master thesis is expected to have a length of 50 pages (+/- 10%), excluding cover page, abstract, table of content, list of figures and tables, references, and appendices.
The application form can be found here.
