Creating a new final year thesis template in TNE programmes towards inclusive education

Responding to a need

The journey through the final year project represents not just the culmination of academic studies, but a crucial test of all the skills a student has developed over their course. Within the TNE programmes at Queen Mary and BUPT, we identified a gap in the support offered for this critical stage. The existing Word template, our standard for project reports, fell short of accommodating the wide-ranging needs of our diverse student body. This was especially true for students engaged in projects that required detailed mathematical equations and thorough data analysis. Projects with heavy mathematical content needed a more sophisticated system to accurately display formula and derivations, which the Word template struggled to provide.

This realization sparked a collaborative initiative aimed at creating a LaTeX template that not only addressed the technical demands of academic writing but also embraced the diverse needs and preferences of our student and staff body.

This is a student-staff co-creation project that involves two members of staff (Dr Yixuan Zou and Dr Ling Ma) and one student (Yuekai Zhang) from the TNE programme between Queen Mary and BUPT. The student, with a strong background in LaTeX, initiated the project and engaged as the main developer of the LaTeX codes. The staff provides technical and policy supports as well as pedagogical feedback, ensuring the template met both aesthetic and functional requirements of the TNE joint degree.

The primary goal of this LaTeX thesis template was to mirror the appearance of the existing Word template to meet the submission standards of both UK and Chinese regulations. The template was designed to also support both English and Chinese characters, while ensuring accessibility to users at all levels of LaTeX proficiency.

The development of the template was conducted on Overleaf, an online platform that enables real-time collaboration and facilitates easy sharing of updates, significantly speeding up the development process. The weekly updates by the student ensured the project stayed on track and any issues were promptly addressed.

The project, spanning a period of six weeks, embraced a dynamic approach incorporating both staff-led and student-led initiatives across its four main stages:

1. Initial Structure Development (Staff-led): An introductory workshop on LaTeX was hosted by Dr Yixuan Zou to provide TNE students with the basic skills and practical experience in LaTeX. Following the workshop, the foundational layout of the template, including the cover, abstracts, chapters, and references, was established, integrating support for English and Chinese characters.
2. Content and Features Addition (Student-led): Essential components such as package imports and mathematical environments were added to facilitate comprehensive academic writing and various functionalities.
3. Enhanced Accessibility (Student-led): The addition of detailed comments and simplification of commands made the template more user-friendly and accessible to LaTeX beginners.
4. Final Review and Release (Staff-led): The template underwent rigorous testing and refinement before being officially released in March 2024.

The template was released on 11 March 2024 and in the first month we have already witnessed approximately 100 downloads. The strong interest in the innovative LaTeX template reflects more than just TNE students' needs; it signals a broader shift towards embracing advanced technologies in education. This enthusiasm highlights the importance of incorporating such tools into our curriculum, aligning with students' desires to learn and master new skills.

This initiative not only provided a practical solution to the diverse needs of our students but also exemplified a pioneering approach to collaborative educational resource development, enriching the learning environment and fostering a sense of ownership and inclusion among the student body.

Recommendations

Adopting a co-creative approach that involves the students in the development of the education tool can significantly enhance the tool’s relevance and usability. 

Nonetheless, it’s also crucial to design a feedback mechanism to evaluate and validate the tangible benefits of the co-creation. In this project, a feedback survey will be implemented to collect data on various aspects (e.g. template usage, student satisfaction, etc.) for further evaluation.