u/SillySpell7442

Hi everyone,

I’m currently an MSc student in Automotive Engineering at RWTH Aachen, living in the Netherlands.

I’m considering doing my master thesis back in the Netherlands, possibly at TU Eindhoven in an automotive-related topic.

However, I’m struggling to understand how the process works for finding and securing a thesis position there.

At RWTH, it’s quite straightforward to find thesis topics through the institutes, but I’m not sure how it works when approaching TU/e as an external student.

My main questions are:

• How do MSc students typically get in contact with TU/e research groups for thesis projects?
• Is it common/acceptable to email professors or PhD researchers directly, or is there a central thesis/job board?
• Can you apply for a thesis externally, or do you need some kind of formal affiliation with TU/e?
• Any tips for automotive-related groups or labs at TU/e or elsewhere in the Netherlands?

If anyone has done their thesis at TU/e (especially as an external student), I’d really appreciate hearing how you got started and how you made contact.

Thanks a lot!