Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for the autumn semester.

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 15 April for the autumn semester.

Type of course

Admission requirements

Admission to the course requires a Bachelor Degree in one of the natural sciences, or equivalent, including core chemistry courses, general physics, and calculus, with a grade C or better in the Norwegian grading system.

Local admission, application code 9371 - singular courses at Master's level.

Course content

The course aims to prepare students for advanced training and work in the interdisciplinary fields of modern molecular sciences, both within or outside of academia. The course will provide students with tools and techniques for acquiring, reviewing and presenting scientific data and introduce them to scientific standards and traditions for referencing and publishing. The knowledge acquired through the course will be demonstrated in a final project addressing a scientific observation, innovation or problem relevant for the society, either in general or specifically.

The course will consist of three parts:

• Information resources and communication tools (4 ECTS)
• Core technologies of  molecular sciences (12 ETCS)
• Interdisciplinary project work (4 ECTS)

1. Information resources and communication tools

Via seminars and lectures, students will become familiar with scientific databases, authorship and publication ethics, presentation techniques, and concepts related to scientific publishing and result dissemination:

Tools:

• Referencing tools
• Literature searches
• Presentation tools

Techniques:

• Oral presentation techniques
• Scientific reports and articles: types, structuring, referencing

Ethics and guidelines:

• Citation styles and standards in molecular sciences
• Scientific publications: components, authorship, publication stages
• Copyright and open access models

2. Core technologies of molecular sciences

Four technology modules reflecting topics which are most relevant for future interdisciplinary work on applied projects are available to the students. A common textbook for the course, supplemented by additional materials where necessary, will describe interdisciplinary projects from different technological points of view.  The core technology areas are:

• Chemical structure, bonding, and reactivity
• Computational chemistry and molecular modelling
• Macromolecular chemistry
• Bioinformatics

Depending on the number of students on the course, the students' background and interests, the students must choose three of the modules, alternatively participate in at least 75% of the lectures.

3. Interdisciplinary project work

Each student will author a paper and present a lecture on a project assignment to demonstrate mastery of the course material. The assignment will be chosen from among the thematic areas of the Master program in Molecular Sciences (Chemistry of the Cell, Darug Discovery and Design, Scientific Computing in Chemistry and Biology, Functional Materials,

Catalysis) and be based on current interdisciplinary topics of interest from across the areas of molecular sciences, and will be defined to involve collaboration with other students of the course. The paper and lecture will comprise the major part of the assessment of student performance.

Objectives of the course

The candidate will have acquired a solid and broad theoretical basis to various aspects of molecular sciences. This means that the student:

Knowledge:

• Has in-depth knowledge of techniques used in oral and written scientific communication
• Understands how to search scientific databases efficiently
• Understands how to structure various types of scientific reports
• Understands the legal framework of scientific publication

Skills:

• Can conduct literature and data searches
• Can write clear and concise professional scientific reports and oral presentations
• Can make appropriate choices regarding publication styles and copyright conditions
• Can explain a scientific observation, innovation or problem using an interdisciplinary approach, combining knowledge and methods from several sub-topics.

Competence:

• Can communicate scientific results both in writing and orally, with appropriate standards and structures
• Can evaluate and edit his/her and others scientific reports
• Understands the relationship between knowledge and presenting knowledge
• Can combine knowledge from several topics and obtained from different sources to put molecular sciences in a scientific and societal context

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

Assessment

Approved electronic portfolio containing assignments. Passed/not passed.

Coursework requirements: Oral presentation of the final reports.

There will not be arranged a re-sit exam for this course.