Use case · Match
Find a corporate sponsor for a thesis, capstone, or fellowship
For graduate students and the advisors who back them, when the project would benefit from a company's problem, data, or materials behind it.
Free plan · No credit card required
A sponsored thesis is the lowest-commitment way a company can work with a university, and the student finishes with a company that already knows their work. It also almost never happens by accident. It happens when an advisor knows someone, and if your advisor doesn't, it doesn't.
Our platform gives your project a place to be found, and gives you a way to read which companies have said, on their own profiles, that they sponsor student work.
How it works
A worked example. A master's student in polymer science wants a sponsored thesis on recyclable polyurethane composites for wind-turbine blades, and her advisor will co-supervise if a company brings a resin system and the test data.
Step 1: See what's already posted
Open Discover → Projects and set Collaboration type to Student Programs. Projects in that category are internships, capstones, sponsored theses, and fellowships that members have posted. Add Required expertise or Owner organization to narrow. Depending on your field, this list may be short today, it grows as companies join.
Step 2: Post your thesis where sponsors browse
Create your own project: the thesis in a paragraph, the Required expertise on the company's side (resin formulation, mechanical testing at scale), the timeline, and one of the Student Programs agreement types. Visibility is Everyone on Free, and the project is live when saved. Add your advisor as a member. Active projects appear in Discover → Projects, in other members' dashboard suggestions, and get their own list of recommended researchers, which can include industry scientists.
For the example, a title like “Sponsored MS thesis: recyclable polyurethane composites for wind blades,” with the advisor as an editor, is the whole setup.
Step 3: Find who sponsors students
Switch to Discover → Researchers, set Organization to a company whose materials you'd be working with (for a polyurethane blade resin, the resin maker is the obvious one), and open profiles. Members who have signed up list the categories they're open to under Open to collaborating on. A Student Programs chip means they've said they sponsor this kind of work. The chips are on profiles, not in the filters, so this is reading, not searching. A materials scientist with that chip and a list of papers on polyurethane composites is the profile you're looking for in this step.
Step 4: Follow, then write
Follow the industry researchers in your area so their new papers show up on your dashboard, and Message the ones whose record fits. Link your project in the message. If the person hasn't signed up, their profile offers Invite to Helikon instead, which emails them.
What you’ll see
- 1. Collaboration type. The agreement type, grouped under its category.
- 2. Owner organization. The institution or company behind the project.
- 3. Required expertise. What the owner is looking for.
- 4. Timeline. Start and end dates where set.
- 5. Express interest. On the project page, the owner accepts or declines.
What’s on Free, and what Pro adds
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Browse Projects with every filter | Yes | Yes |
| Active projects | 2 | 10 |
| People per project, including you | 3 | Unlimited |
| Project visibility | Everyone | Everyone, Organization, or Private |
| New people messaged | 10 a month | 200 a month |
Everyone visibility is what you want here to be found, and it's the Free default.
Match
A sponsored thesis is a small partnership, and the Match phase applies at small scale: fit on the problem first, then the money. Read about the phase →
- Can my advisor be on the project?
- Yes. Add them as a member with a role, Free projects can hold three people, including you. Once a sponsor joins, the project is the shared record for all three of you.
- Are companies posting student projects today?
- Our platform is new, but growing, which is why there are two directions here: putting your project where sponsors browse, and going to the companies whose researchers say they sponsor students. Do both.
- Does the platform handle the sponsorship agreement?
- No. The project records the agreement type and, once signed, the contract date. The agreement itself goes through your university's sponsored programs or industry contracts office. Talk to them before you write to a company.
Post your thesis where sponsors can find it
Free plan · No credit card required