Type of course

Admission requirements

Local admission, application code 9371 - master's level singular course. Admission requires a bachelor's degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology, biotechnology or chemistry of minimum 80 ECTS.

Recommended prerequisites: One or several of following courses (or equivalent): BIO-2001 Fysiologi I, BIO-2513 Marin Biodiversitet, BIO-2601 Generell mikrobiologi, BIO-2606 Generell og marin bioteknologi, MAT-1001, MAT-1002, MAT-1003 Calculus 1,2 & 3, Linear Algebra MAT-1004

Course content

The objective of this course is for students to develop advanced knowledge and skills related to industrial development of marine resources and bioproducts.

Topically, the lectures are divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the fundamentals of industrial biotechnology in a marine context, including biomolecules, marine sidestreams, and industrial processing of marine biomass. The second section will focus on analytical tools and methodologies, including value propositions, GMOs in industry, upscaling of industrial processes, LCA, and regulatory landscapes. The final section will focus on real-world examples of marine industrial biotechnology, including guest lecturers from relevant industries.

The practical component of the course will introduce students to industrial biotechnology through business visits. Here, students will be exposed to real-world industry practices, providing insight into the commercialization process and the challenges of transitioning and idea or product from the lab to the market. Challenges posed by scaling-up production methods from lab to pilot and ultimately industrial scale, are omnipresent and require advanced knowledge. This includes a good familiarity of processes that can be exemplified by the marine biotechnological sector regional to northern Norway.

Recommended prerequisites

Objectives of the course

On successful completion of the course, candidates will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

• has advanced knowledge about specific bioprocesses involving the use of biomolecules with unique characteristics
• understands basic workflows for exploitation of raw materials derived from the marine sector
• has a thorough understanding of molecules such as proteins/peptides, lipids and carbohydrates
• knows how raw materials are generated in industry, the importance of them being handled correctly to ensure good quality and how this in turn affects down-stream value chains
• has a general knowledge over common challenges, both research-wise and financial, in creating and expanding the blue bioeconomy
• has advanced knowledge of how modern research relates to commercial potential, especially in marine biotechnology
• has a general understanding over industrial bioprocesses and the challenges involved in scaling up from laboratory to industrial scale

Skills:

• has the ability to apply theoretical and practical problem-solving techniques to the different development stages of industrial biotechnology
• has the ability to independently develop and evaluate value propositions of various value chains related to marine biotechnology
• has communication skills on an academic level that allows for effective knowledge exchange between scientific and industrial partners. For this, students will develop themselves both individually and within collaborative teams

General competence:

• can describe specific and generalized processes for utilizing raw materials
• can demonstrate a general familiarity with the value propositions and processes used by real biotechnological industries

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods

This course will consist of lectures, seminars, and a compulsory laboratory course. We will have guest lectures from domain experts and students will visit local industry.

The syllabus is made up of relevant scientific articles and fact sheets that will be given out after the lectures. There will be problem-based assignments for each section. There will be individual and group projects, students will write reports and make at least one oral presentation during the course.