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Opponents: At the final seminar there will be individual main opponents as well as mini-opponents. This means that every thesis will have more than one opponent. The opponents have maximum 20 minutes together, so it will be essential to share time and let everyone (especially the main opponents) speak. Here are some guidelines for the opposition:

● Read thoroughly the thesis that you are opposing. ● State clearly what are the strong and weak sides of the thesis that is under scrutiny. In

order to handle such an extensive task, further instructions are given hereunder in

order to guide your reading:

- Overall impression emerging from the text.

- Structure of the whole thesis.

- Integration between the different parts of the thesis. Look for fragmentations and evaluate the coherence of the text. Look for loose ends or good composition.

- Look carefully at each part in itself and what it contributes to the whole.

- Penetrate and evaluate the research problem, if any, and how it is presented and argued for? Is it presented as something worth to write about, to read about? Is the problem contextualised in the sense that it is presented as being embedded in a wider societal and/or managerial context?

- Look at the purpose of the study: how it is presented and is it feasible? Ask if it is realistic? Ask if it is rewarding? Ask if it is interesting? Does it have any adding value?

- Stay a moment with the methodology discussion and see how the arguments are conducted and how well they fit with the nature of the problem being studied.

- Look at the kind of empirical work that has been done and see how well it is motivated for, argued for and presented. See also how well founded and realistic it is.

- An important part of the thesis is the analysis. Some time it stands alone and some other times it is embedded in the empirical tale. Look carefully at the theoretical evocations and how well they have been applied. Look at the way arguments are conducted in terms of logic, of succession, and of conviction.

- Ask yourself if the analysis is convincing?

- Is there any overall added value emerging from the thesis? Can we benefit from reading it? Does it feel serious and important? What have the opponents learned from it?

- Check the references and the quotations. Check the adequacy, the systematic and the consistency of the system.

- Check thoroughly for any passages and fragments that might be pasted in the text without being imperatively and adequately quoted.

- What about the language? Check the readability of the text, the syntax and the elegance of the formulation, if any. Check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

Please observe that the opponent’s actions are not to be seen as restricted by these instructions. The logic behind this is that we wish to avoid “obliging” friends having to criticise each other. This is not the aim. All that you are supposed to say must be seen as a positive input in order to improve the last draft before printing.

This being said, it is of course possible for anyone opponent to go beyond these instructions and guidelines for the oppositions. We leave this to your own appreciation and good judgement.

The opposition is also to be made in writing (main opponents maximum 5 pages, mini-opponents maximum 2 pages) printed and delivered before the opposition takes place​.