Guidelines Internship Report (AE5050)

These are the guidelines for the final report of the internship as part of the curriculum of the Master in
Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology. General advise is listed below, followed on the
next page by all mandatory sections of the report and a brief explanation for each one of them.

Writing style
The formulation of the report should be clear; explanations have to be easy to understand. It should also
be concise (without resorting to telegram style), attractive (sentence length is varied, examples are used
when necessary) and correct (no spelling- or grammatical errors and correct use of punctuation). The
report should never read as a log or diary. Hence, writing in the first person (me, myself and I) is out of
the question, except for the preface, assignment on engineering profession, self-reflection and tips &
tricks for future interns. You are writing this report for a professor of the faculty, so you have to address
your audience. While writing you should keep in mind at all times: ‘what do I want to tell the reader of
this report?’

Images and references

The report should only contain images that contribute to the readers understanding of the concerning
topic. Furthermore, all ideas, fragments, figures and data that have been quoted from other work should
have a correct reference in the text and in the bibliography and all images need to be cross-referenced.
Literal quotations are indicated by using marks and page numbers. Paraphrases cannot be too close to
the original.

Report Structure
The report has to look functional and attractive. The font used should be functional (type and size) and
the subheadings easily recognizable. Chapters have to be numbered and purposely subdivided into
second and third level headings and every chapter starts with an introduction to the chapter.
Paragraphs start with topic sentences, and should not be too long. They each deal with only one topic
and are grouped when necessary. Lists contain a limited number of items, no more than six. They only
contain items that belong together and use uniform grammar. Also page numbering is mandatory.

Note that this document provides only guidelines for the internship report. It is possible to deviate from
these guidelines according to your own best judgement and dependent on your specific internship. As
for the provided example tables of contents, the order of sections differs from the order stated in this
document.

Confidentiality
In case you are not allowed to share your final results in your internship report, you are highly
recommended to use fake numbers. You are discouraged by us to blur your figures and results, as it will
be unclear to the grading professor what exactly you did. You should make sure that it is possible for the
reader to understand what work you performed.

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Mandatory sections
The mandatory sections for the internship report are as follows (a brief description of every section can
be found on the following pages):

 Standard title page

 Final grading form MSc AE
 Preface
 Table of contents
 List of figures
 List of tables
 List of symbols and abbreviations
 Abstract or executive summary
 Introduction to the report [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Background information on the company [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Introduction to the problem or problem statement [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 The work done/methodology/steps that were taken [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Outcome [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Conclusions [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Recommendations for future work [Part of 25 a4 limit]
 Assignment on engineering profession
 Self-reflection report
 Tips & tricks for future interns
 References
 Appendices

The technical report consists of the introduction to the problem/problem statement, the work
done/methodology/steps that were taken, the outcome, the conclusions and the recommendations for
future work. This part of the report has a page limit of 50 numbered pages (25 double-side printed A4s),
and should be structured according to the rules of the Bachelor course 'Technical Writing'.

Page limit
The technical part of the report cannot exceed the maximum of 25 A4s (1 A4 is one double-side
printed page). Your Latex/Word file thus can contain 50 numbered pages as technical part. Please see
the section above about the matter that are part of the 25 A4s.

Standard Title Page

Please use the standard title page that can be downloaded from the internship website
(internship.lr.tudelft.nl). It includes the same information as your approval form and is required for
grading. Feel free to add the standard title page directly behind a more aesthetic front page if you desire.
You may also find this empty title page on AE5050 Brightspace page.

Final grading form MSc AE

Contrary to the mid-term grading, the final evaluation by your supervisor should be included in the
internship report. It should be signed by your supervisor before the end of the internship. The form can
be found under “Execution phase” on the AE5050 Brightspace page.

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Preface
The preface is a personal introduction to the report. Here it can be indicated where, when and why the
internship took place. It can also be used to thank certain people that have contributed to the work. No
details on the project should be discussed here.

Table of contents
A table of contents is supposed to show a clear structure of your report. It has to contain informative
titles that show the relationship between first, second and third level sections.

List of figures and list of tables

The list of figures and the list of tables should be provided with all figures or tables from the report, in
order of appearance. All figures and tables throughout the report should have a number and title. They
should be comprehensible without having to read the text (e.g. have a legend if necessary). If copied,
they should contain a reference and they are always referred to in the text.

List of symbols and abbreviations

The list of symbols and abbreviations defines all important symbols and abbreviations in the report. It is
in alphabetical order (first Roman symbols, then Greek). There need to be two separate lists, one for
symbols and one for abbreviations.

Abstract/ executive summary

The abstract or executive summary should be readable as a stand-alone document and give the reader
an idea about the whole work. It therefore contains a brief background on the problem, a description of
the problem itself, a purpose statement, an explanation of the method used, support for the conclusions
and the conclusions themselves.

Introduction to the report [Part of 25 a4 limit]

This introduction provides context for the reader and to make the rest of the report understandable. The
purpose of the report and the aims of the project you have been working on are stated here. Also any
technical background necessary to understand the report and a brief outline of the structure of the
report should be mentioned.

Background information on the company [Part of 25 a4 limit]

This part of the report gives the reader an idea about the company and the department at which the
internship took place. Relevant could be a brief history of the company and a good description of its core
businesses.

Introduction to the problem/problem statement [Part of 25 a4 limit]

The introduction to the problem contains background information to the problem and a clear description
on the problem itself. Also a purpose statement, a description of the method and steps that were taken
to solve the problem(s), restrictions and a motivated structure overview should be provided.

The work done/methodology/steps that were taken [Part of 25 a4 limit]

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This is the section of the report where the work during the internship is described. The experiments are
explained as well as the methodology (if applicable).

Outcome [Part of 25 a4 limit]

The results of the entire internship are stated here. They sum up the outcome of all the work done
during the internship period.

Conclusions [Part of 25 a4 limit]

The conclusions restate the purpose statement and indicate to what extend the purpose has been
achieved. It should follow logically from the previous chapters and can be read as a stand-alone
document.

Recommendations for future work [Part of 25 a4 limit]

The recommendations follow logically from the conclusions. Here you present and discuss the actions
that future researchers/interns/employees should or could take as a result of your findings. This section
should be readable as a stand-alone document.

Assignment on engineering profession

This is an extra assignment that all interns should make, as agreed upon in your approval form before the
beginning of the internship. It is a creative chapter in your report and should contain about 1500 words.
The main question that should be answered is about how well the internship company is meeting
professional standards with respect to one of the following fields:

 Sustainable development
 Financial management reporting
 Management techniques: project- and risk management, health- and safety management,
knowledge management, financial management and value management (motivating people,
developing skills, promotion, human resources)

The goal of this assignment is to give you a broader view on the company. It is recommended that you
gather information using different channels, including talking to colleagues. Your personal view on the
topic should also be included in the assignment.

Self-reflection report
This section should be about 500 words long, and it should answer the following questions:
 How does the knowledge gained during your study AE apply during your internship?
 How did the internship broaden your view on your career opportunities?
 To what extent were your personal learning objectives reached?
 What did you learn about yourself? Any unexpected talents?
 How did you cope with the feedback from either your supervisor and/or direct colleagues?

Note that the self-reflection should be about you and not about the company.

Tips & tricks for future interns

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This part of the report will be posted on Brightspace to inform other students about your experiences
during your internship. The following questions should be answered:

 Please start with a 2 lines about your project.

 Was the internship what you expected? Please explain.
 What was your motivation for choosing the organization you chose? Please explain.
 Please include some practical tips for future interns (e.g. VISA, Working permit, allowances,
lodging, use of public transport and possible projects for future interns).
 How to apply at the company/institution. Only provide contact information if agreed upon with
the supervisor.

References
A references page is the last page of your technical report where you list all the sources you have used in
your report, so readers can easily identify and trace the sources you have used. You are required to
present a reference for every information, data, figure, text,… that does not originate from you. The list
of references should therefore present all sources you used during your internship.

Appendices
Each appendix has a title and a number. All appendices should be referred to in the text at least once.