Current Topics in Biology

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Current Topics in Biology is the introductory course to the track General Biology. The course also features elements from the introductory courses of the other Biological Sciences MSc tracks.  The main aim of the course is to introduce the students to and train the students in integrative, systems biological research on emergent phenomena across levels of biological organization. Advances in biological research are increasingly dependent on collaboration among different (sub)disciplines. These advances thus require training biologists with expertise in some subdisciplines and ‘scientific literacy’ in many of these subdisciplines.

In this course, students will be introduced to integrative, systems approaches to biological problems through lectures organized by teachers from within The Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences and The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. In addition to the lectures, there will be paper discussions to develop the students skills to both argue from their own perspective and listen and learn form the perspectives of their peers and tutorials to introduce students actively in specialized topics. In an essay assignment, the students learn to reflect on state-of-the-art research and to formulate and defend opinions about the interpretation of new scientific results. The course also features a presentation assignment to train students in collaborative research design. Excursions will give a first-hand experience with the complexity of research and biodiversity management at the ecosystem level.

Study materials

Literature

• See papers uploaded to Canvas

Objectives

• The student is able to summarize advances in Ecology & Evolution, Freshwater and Marine Biology, and Green Life Sciences.
• The student is able to assess how reductionist and systems approaches contribute to integrative understanding of biological complexity.
• The student is able to assess evidence presented in scientific literature from across levels of biological organization
• The student is able to formulate an evidence-based opinion or open question about research across levels of biological organization and engage in discussion with their peers.
• The student is able to develop a collaborative, integrative research plan spanning across multiple subdisciplines in Biology.
• The student is able to present a collaborative, integrative research plan in a logical, understandable manner to their peers.
• The student is able to write a perspective on the emergent ecological or evolutionary effects of biological interactions.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Presentation/symposium
• Fieldwork/excursion
• Self-study
• Supervision/feedback meeting

Lecturers from researchers at SILS and IBED will provide an overview of the research done within these institutions and cover a wide-range of topics that  contribute to an interdisciplinary understanding of the biological world. Paper discussions and and essay assignment train students to formulate and defend opinions about the interpretation of new scientific results across sub-disciplines. 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 design collaborative and integrative research and to disseminate a research proposal the broader scientific community. Students of this course will also attend several lectures from introductory courses in the Green Life Sciences track, The Evolution of Behavior and Mind track and in the Freshwater and Marine Biology track. 

Learning activities

Attendance

Additional requirements for this course:

Mandatory practical components exercises include paper discussions (denoted by "werkcollege") and excursions. A mandatory, short, written assignment should be completed following every lecture. 

Assessment

For the essay: 0.5 point is deducted from the final grade for every day (excluding weekends and Dutch national holidays) the essay is uploaded passed the deadline. If the rounded final grade (minus delay deduction) for the essay is < 5.0, a retake is possible. This will be discussed with the course coordintator.

For the presentation: Slides have to be uploaded at the end of the day of the presentations by the latest. 0.5 point is deducted from the final grade for every day (excluding weekends and Dutch national holidays) the slides are uploaded passed the deadline. A retake for this partial assignment is only possible in the following academic year.

Passing the course is contingent on completing the pass/fail assignments (lecture assignments, paper discussions and tutorials, and excursion assignments). Exceptions can only be made if these are discussed before the assignment takes place.

Assignments

Graded essay assignment, individual assignment, due in the last week of the course. Feedback will given at two intermediate timepoints in a tutorial/feedback lecture. The final feedback and the grade will be communicated through Canvas. 

Graded presentation assignment. Presentations are on the last course day. This is a group assignment that will be done in pairs. Feedback is given on two intermediate timepoints in a tutorial/feedback lecture. The final feedback and the grade will be communicated through Canvas. 

Additional assignments with fail/pass grading: paper discussions/writing assignments for the lectures, paper discussions for the excursion to Otterlo. 

Fraud and plagiarism

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

Course structure

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. Thomas Blankers

Staff

• dr. S. Allmann
• prof. dr. Stanley Brul
• prof. dr. A.D.J. van Dijk
• prof. dr. Karline Janmaat
• dr. W.E. Morriën
• dr. Marlies Oostland
• dr. A. Spang
• dr. S. Wilken
• dr. Meike Wortel