Get guidance on how to practice academic integrity at Tomorrow University
The Tomorrow University experience is designed to develop your own capacity to implement change in an uncertain future. The core of this learning experience, is challenge-based learning, where you apply your subject knowledge and skills in the completion of projects.
During this process we encourage you to examine the work of others from research to product ideas as a learning source and inspiration. Building upon others work and collaborating is at the core of all innovation and precisely what ToU stands for! We want you to research other products when creating your own, to learn their successes and mistakes and speed your learning process. Knowledge is free! However, copying the work of others without acknowledgment, either recklessly or purposely, undermines this process and compromises the fairness of the learning experience. By plagiarism, one usually understands the conscious improper incorporation of extraneous intellectual property. This definition already shows that plagiarism by no means contradicts academic standards – in many cases, they also violate original copyright, which already represents a punitive action (Höllerer/Kloibhofer (2006), p. 60f.).
As such, plagiarism (passing off the work of others as your own, and/or not properly citing your sources), prevents you from developing the appropriate skills, undermines your learning experience and violates usage rights and the ToU code of conduct. Furthermore, as a Bx, MSc or MBA learner, you are part of a wider community of learners, entrepreneurs and scientists, who collectively agree on certain standards and ethics.
ToU grading and originality of Student Work
To be given a positive grade by ToU, student work must fulfil the legal criteria for originality pursuant to the laws governing university studies (see in particular § 51 (2) lines 7, 8, and 13 of the Universities Act 2002).
Work can be considered original only if the main emphasis of the work is based on the individual student’s own intellectual achievement, i.e., the work must have more to offer than solely the collection and presentation of previously existing sources. The degree of originality can vary depending on the topic, type, and scope of the work.
What is plagiarism?
Academic plagiarism, is generally defined as presenting the work of others as your own without proper acknowledgement. This applies to text, code, images and media regardless of whether this from a published source (websites, reports, research papers), an unpublished source (another student’s essay) or lectures/media.
University studies law: Pursuant to the laws governing university studies, work is considered to be plagiarized if the criterion of originality as defined by the laws governing university studies is not given. This is the case, for example, if the work of a third party is incorporated into the student’s own work, wholly or in part. Partial incorporation of the work of a third party is acceptable only if the necessary degree of originality for the work in question is still given and all applicable copyright provisions (quotation rights) have been adhered to.
Copyright: Pursuant to intellectual property laws, work is considered to be plagiarism if other persons’ ideas are incorporated into the work, and this incorporation does not fall under the regulations concerning license-free usage (quotation rights). Any license-free use of third-party works or parts thereof in a work is only admissible if identified as such ("small quotation," "large quotation") and the source of the third-party work is provided (§ 46 lines 1 and 2, § 57 (2) Austrian Copyright Act). This also applies to translations and international works. The standards and guidelines applicable to the respective academic discipline are to be complied with. Austrian copyright law differentiates between the “Kleinzitat” (small quotation), which is quoting only part of a work, and the “Großzitat” (large quotation), which is quoting an entire work.
For further detail (particularly for PM and MSc SET students), you may also refer to the WU Vienna’s guide to plagiarism and the plagiarism directive.
Forms of plagiarism
There are various forms of plagiarism which can include:
- Verbatim: Copying and pasting information, text or data from another source without acknowledging the original author/source. Example: Copying the conclusion of a research paper and passing off as your own insight.
- Paraphrasing: Partially modifying the text/information from a source so it appears to be your own without proper acknowledgement of the original. Example: Copying the conclusion of a research paper, swapping a few words around, and then passing it off as your own insight.
- Undeclared assistance: Having someone else (another student, or a ghost writer) complete your work and passing it off as your own. Example: Having a colleague or another student complete the challenge for you, then submitting this as your own work.
- Collusion: Submitting the work of another student as your own / two students submitting the same piece of work. Example: Obtaining another students work and submitting this via the app under your name.
- AI usage: Submitting AI outputs as your own work without acknowledgement Example: Using the challenge description as an AI prompt, copying the output, and submitting this as your own work without acknowledgement. For more information on AI use at ToU, see our AI guidelines here.