Type of course

Admission requirements

Only students on the Master's degree program in biotechnology are eligible for this course. It is not available to any other category of students as a singular or elective course.

Students who are admitted to the master's in biotechnology normally select a project during the first semester, and no later than one month before the end of the second semester. There will be arranged meetings/seminars to give overview of available master projects and themes during the first semester.

Course content

The master thesis is the main part of the master study in marine biotechnology. Skills will be developed through independent scientific work and production of a written thesis under the guidance by one supervisor or a several supervisor teams. The work should be research related and the thesis should have elements of new basic knowledge or methods. The thesis can be based on literature study, data from field work or laboratory research or a combination of these.

The thesis is written within one of the following disciplines, linked to use of sustainable marine arctic resources and aiming for different innovative purposes:

• Marine resources (meaning valuable physical and biological entities that are found in seas and oceans - characterization and isolation of diverse marine natural products (NPs), usable in industry, ingredients, drug discovery, functional food, or other new products
• Biological activity and mechanisms of action of marine natural compounds using different modern approaches and technologies (examples of biological activities: antibacterial, anticancer, immune modulatory, anti-oxidative etc., enzymes/inhibitor activity, etc.)
• Marine resources and molecular biotechnology of secondary metabolites from invertebrates, microalgae, bacteria, fungi, virus, etc., to identify microbial communities and their biosynthetic pathways and diversity of NP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) and active products
• New marine resources as food - impact on health
• Basic studies and synthetic biology on arctic marine resources; animals (vertebrates and invertebrates), plants and microorganism to understand molecular interactions between molecules

Objectives of the course

A Master's candidate is expected to have advanced and comprehensive knowledge of biotechnological methodology, theories, concepts and scientific approaches. The candidates who complete the program are expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes, defined by general proficiency, knowledge and skills

Knowledge

• Have advanced knowledge about industrial and biotechnological processes for use of marine resources and natural molecules with unique characteristics
• Have knowledge that can be applied to solve specific tasks in industry and public administration
• Understand our ethical our ethical responsibility for sustainable resource utilization, industrial practice and innovation
• Have knowledge of scientific theory and experience in applying scientific methodology

Skills. Students will have the ability to

• Formulate relevant research questions in an independent manner, and apply theories, concepts and methods pursuant to the scientific and ethical standards in the field
• Use advanced skills in genetics, biotechnological and molecular biological techniques
• Use multidisciplinary skills that enable students to combine different disciplines so that they can analyze and solve a wide range of technical problems
• Demonstrate proficiency in working individually and as a member of a team
• Complete a research project in marine biotechnology
• Search for and evaluate recent biological research in a critical manner, and to make assessments using scientific knowledge in the field
• Present biotechnological knowledge and ideas in an instructive manner to researchers, policy makers, industry and the general public

General proficiency

• Have acquired specialized expertise in one of the topics areas offered
• Have the competence to analyze biotechnology problems that require skills at a high level
• Apply their knowledge and skills in biotechnological theory and methods in new areas relevant to society
• Have sufficient competence to participate in and to evaluate research projects or to advance to doctoral studies
• Able to present scientific results in written and oral form

Language of instruction and examination

Teaching methods