Confidentiality

Sometimes, if you do a project in a company, confidentiality may be an issue. Make sure to read the confidentiality BEFORE you agree to a company project.

If you graduate in a company or institute that asks you to keep the results confidential, please make sure to read the following text carefully before you start the project.

Eindhoven University of Technology is a government funded institute. The Dutch government values the transparency of the knowledge generated at universities. In addition to the law, regulations and codes of conduct within the TU/e state that the openness of research data is the norm.  Therefore, the starting point is that all graduation work of students is also in the public domain.

Sometimes you do your graduation work in a company or (other) institution that asks to keep the results confidential. In that case, before the start of a graduation project, a discussion must take place between the student, the supervisor from the TU/e, and the external (company or institution) supervisor. In that conversation it is determined whether there is a need to restrict making the graduation work public (possibly with modifications). Often, it is an option to alter the project topic so that the results can be public.

If the project result has to be confidential according to the company or institute, there is an option to keep the graduation work confidential for 2 years under conditions. You can find information about the procedure in the to-do list.

If there is a good reason to keep graduation work confidential for longer than 2 years, it is possible for the company or institution to submit a motivated request to the dean of the department Mechancal Enginering, that supervises the student's master’s degree program. Under conditions, the work can then be kept confidential for up to 5 years, which is the maximum term. The details and conditions for these terms are described on this website. 

For companies that have a TU/e wide contract agreement, as is listed on this website. Internships and graduation projects (tue.nl)  , no additional requirements are in place.

If the company requires the graduation work to remain confidential for a period between 2 and 5 years, the Dean of the Department of Mechanical Engineering will request a financial contribution of €20,000 (excluding VAT).

As a student you are not involved in that requirement. However, it is your responsibility to make sure to inform the company of that requirement and to provide the contact data to the TU/e. To inform the company/institute, you can provide them with this document. 

The financial contribution will be used by the department board to enable a scholarship for one or more students in the degree program.