First, the course content
This course aims to provide the most advanced education and research training for the most advanced fields, and meet the main talent needs and skill gaps in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. This course mainly provides students with the core and advanced knowledge of biotechnology as well as practical and research skills. In addition, the course aims to promote the development of transferable skills and business awareness related to biotechnology research and industry practice. Generally speaking, the course aims to train graduates with the basic understanding and skills necessary to become leaders in biotechnology or satellite fields.
Second, learning outcomes.
The master's degree program in biotechnology provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue a career in the fields of pharmacy, medical care, agricultural machinery or bioenergy, or in other fields important to biological processes, whether in academic or industrial environment. At the end of the course, students will show the basic and advanced technical knowledge of biotechnology. They will acquire the technical foundation of core topics, explore current trends and study the latest technologies of biotechnology. After the course, students will also be familiar with the practical work of biotechnology and understand modern bioanalysis technology and its limitations. This course has strong research results and will help students to carry out a research project, which needs to understand a wide range of technologies and published literature, the originality of knowledge application and a certain degree of self-guidance.
This course promotes the development of various transferable skills. In particular, graduating students will be able to exchange formal reports and oral presentations with high standards, manage tasks and deadlines effectively, and work in teams. In addition, they will learn about the best practices of research data management, the process of scientific publishing and the necessity of spreading science in the outreach environment. Successful students will also show a certain degree of business awareness related to biotechnology, which will enable them to communicate and interact effectively with a series of stakeholders. In particular, they will understand the process of transforming new technologies and ideas into marketable products, understand the main problems in transformation research, and obtain key concepts of intellectual property rights and bioethics.
Third, teaching methods.
This course is based on the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, but it benefits from the contributions of other departments and offices of the university and a series of industry champions. From June 10 to August, it consists of teaching, practice and research elements. Its content is flexible, allowing students to customize their study according to their own interests and career goals by choosing professional modules and fields and departments in universities they want to study.
This course provides comprehensive training covering four key learning areas: technical knowledge, practical skills, research skills and transferable skills, including business-related abilities. These learning areas are explored through six complementary elements. From June 10 to February 12, all students attended the core course of biotechnology. The purpose of this course is to provide students with basic knowledge so that they can apply their analytical skills to biology-related fields. I also took over six advanced elective courses this year. These courses will be selected by students from the list of subjects taught by chemical engineering and biotechnology departments and other departments of the university. The advanced courses usually offered include topics such as bionics, biotechnology, biosensors, medical physics, systems biology, international business and technical management. Practical courses include demonstration courses, computer-based cloning experiments and wet laboratory experiments, which give students the opportunity to develop their practical and theoretical research skills. From the first eight months, students will conduct personal research projects in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology or other departments. Some projects may involve industrial cooperation. The course also includes a team research project. Throughout the summer, the whole class worked together to complete a project, which will be defined and organized in cooperation with one of the industry champions of the project. In this project, students have the opportunity to develop business-related skills, rely on leadership, effective project management, understand a series of different stakeholders in multiple languages, and have a business sense of successfully completing the exercise. Although the course has a strong scientific core, it attaches great importance to the cultivation of transferable skills, that is, it provides comprehensive training, and the transferable skills module runs for more than a year.
Teaching is carried out through formal lectures, demonstration courses and practical courses (laboratory and computing), supervised research in one-on-one and group environments, and a series of other ways to support the development of practical and transferable skills (such as training seminars, seminars, periodical clubs, formal and informal lectures). For teaching components, each module usually provides two hours of supervision. For the research part, students usually meet with at least one project leader every week. Tutors can be provided for laboratory work, and equipment or specific technical assistance can be provided as needed.
Seminars and courses Generally speaking, the teaching of transferable skills module is seminar-style, students are strongly encouraged to participate, and there are a lot of skills practice opportunities (weekly throughout the year 1 hour). The number of lectures per week will be different, depending on how students choose advanced courses. Practical courses in basic and advanced biotechnology are expected to last about 50 hours, including demonstrations, wet labs and computer conferences. Throughout the year, students carry out individual and team research projects, which involve intensive practical elements. As a part of the transferable skills module, students will have the opportunity to participate in practical activities to promote the development of professional and vocational skills.
Fourth, feedback.
Students will get online reports regularly. Usually, they will receive feedback on any course assignments submitted for evaluation as part of the course content. In the research part of the course, feedback is provided by the research director, usually once a week. Students will be required to meet with the course director at the end of Michael Festival and Lent to discuss the progress and any academic related issues.
Students can get in touch with course leaders, course coordinators and other staff who provide courses throughout the year, and encourage students to provide feedback on several elements of the course for monitoring and continuous improvement.