PHP-31803 Current Topics in Plant Biotechnology Part 1

Course

Credits 3.00

Language of instruction:

English.

Assumed knowledge on:

Completed BSc that is relevant to the MSc Plant Biotechnology.

Contents:

Important note to students: please register each period for PHP-31803, not for PHP-31903!
This course links various aspects of the courses, the MSc thesis and internship within MPB. Special attention is given to overarching and current topics that are relevant to the field of plant biotechnology. The course runs throughout the entire MSc-programme, allowing students to form a community of learners that focus on the societal, environmental, ethical, legal, IPR and socio-economic aspects of plant biotechnology, taking the various technologies as a starting point. Essentially, three main issues will be leading: (1) what is possible within Plant Biotechnology (the technology), (2) what is allowed within Plant Biotechnology (concerning environmental safety regulations, for example) and (3) what will be accepted by society (the societal debate).
- students will meet each other regularly to discuss current technologies and topics in plant biotechnology;
- there will be discussions and debates on ethics and philosophical issues;
- students will organize thematic evenings with Experts/ Guest speakers, who will present relevant topics and research innovations, open for discussion.
The core of the course is formed by five evening sessions per academic year, which will be combined with individual and group activities to prepare, process, evaluate and reflect on these sessions.The evening sessions will be organized once every period (with periods 3 and 4 taken together as one period), on the 4th Tuesday of each period (and the 1st Tuesday of period 4).

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- give an overview of current topics, developments and debates in plant biotechnology;
- organize a thematic meeting related to a current topic in the field of Plant Biotechnology and reflect on this activity, with a group of students, or alternatively to individually write an Opinion Paper in which the student is able to provide a (personal) opinion on a specific development related to Plant Biotechnology;
- reflect on knowledge generation and learning processes;
- understand the meaning of ethics in research;
- understand the steps involved in development of new technologies and applications in plant biotechnology.

Activities:

- participating in the evening sessions is connected to interactive activities, group work, organization of, and participating in, thematic sessions and literature study;
- students not organizing a meeting will write an Opinion Paper on a current subject related to Plant Biotechnology;
- students are expected to reflect on the presentations of the evening sessions by writing a short reflection paper that they post on Blackboard;
- preparation of a personal poster, covering CV, motivation, (research) interest and future plans.

Examination:

- organization of evening session (group-wise), including reflection paper (individual); OR: Opinion paper (individual): counts 3/6;
- reflection papers on the presentations of the evening sessions (individual): 2/6;
- personal poster (individual): 1/6;
Required minimum mark for each component: 5.5.

Literature:

All course information is available on an interactive Blackboard-site.