6 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5224CTIB6Y
| Owner | Master Biological Sciences |
| Coordinator | dr. Thomas Blankers |
| Part of | Master Biological Sciences, track General Biology, |
The course Current Topics in Biology is an introduction to the track General Biology and aims to give students a broad overview of the focal areas for research and education in biology at UvA. The topics that will be discussed are chosen based on the "Sectorbeeld Biologie", which translates to sector portrait biology. This portrait was formulated by the Dutch Research Council NWO and demonstrates which areas of biology research hold the largest growth potential within the Netherlands. This portrait resonates with other national ( i.e. in other countries) and international efforts to give community-based guidance about future research programs in biology. These efforts have been developped in order to tailor both fundamental and applied biological research to the needs of our societies and the challenges we face.
The focal areas of the course are:
- Cellular processes in bacteria, plants, and animals (Sector portrait: Building blocks of life)
- Neurogenetics, animal behavior / behavioral genetics, and host-microbiome interactions (Sector portrait: Adaptation and evolution)
- Man-made ecosystems and climate change responses (Sector portrait: From ecosystems to biodiversity)
- Artificial intelligence, imaging, and DNA/RNA sequencing technologies (Sector portrait: Innovating Technology)
These focal areas will be covered in lectures by a broad diversity of researchers from within The Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences and The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. In addition to the lectures, there will be discussions of recen papers to reflect on state-of-the-art research and to formulate and defend opinions about the interpretation of new scientific results. Excursions will give a first-hand experience of the complexity of research and biodiversity management at the ecosystem level and student-presentations will hone critical skills to disseminate complex research to the broader scientific community.
See papers uploaded to Canvas
Lecturers from researchers at SILS and IBED will provide an overview of the research done within these instutions and cover a wide-range of topics that jointly contribute to our understanding of the biological world. Paper discussions train students to formulate and defend opinions about the interpretation of new scientific results. Excursions will give a first-hand experience of the complexity of research and biodiversity management at the ecosystem level. Student-presentations will hone critical skills to disseminate complex research to the broader scientific community.
|
Activity |
Hours |
|
|
Deeltoets |
2 |
|
|
Excursie |
8 |
|
|
Hoorcollege |
36 |
|
|
Presentatie |
6 |
|
|
Veldwerk |
8 |
|
|
Werkcollege |
8 |
|
|
Self study |
100 |
|
|
Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
Requirements of the programme concerning attendance (OER-B):
Additional requirements for this course:
Practical components exercises includes paper discussions (denoted by "werkcollege") and excursions.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
0.5 (50%) Deeltoets | Must be ≥ 5 |
|
0.5 (50%) Presentation | Must be ≥ 5 |
The exam will test your ability to interpret, integrate and critically reflect on results of scientific research at various hierarchical levels, ranging from molecular to ecosystem levels. In practice this means questions about the research covered by the lectures and excursions. The presentations will be group assignments and are graded based on the effort and success in communicating difficult, cutting-edge research to a broad audience.
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.