To develop and acquire a range of personal and interpersonal skills relating to effective self-management and working relationships with others;

To develop and acquire an enhanced ability to communicate effectively in academic and professional settings;

To develop and acquire skills and knowledge required for enhanced employability;

To develop and acquire a range of generic skills that will help with research planning and delivery to a professional standard.

(LO1) Demonstrate improved self-awareness and personal effectiveness

(LO2) Work effectively as a team member to achieve a scientific goal

(LO3) Communicate effectively, using in a variety of contexts to scientific and non-scientific audiences

(LO4) Access and critically evaluate appropriate bibliographic resources and databases

(LO5) Evaluate relevant health and safety issues and demonstrate responsible working practices

(LO6) Demonstrate improved awareness of career opportunities and employability prospects via development of independent learning and self-evaluation skills

(S1) Problem solving/ critical thinking/ creativity analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

(S2) Team (group) working respecting others, co-operating, negotiating / persuading, awareness of interdependence with others

(S3) Communication and collaboration online participating in digital networks for learning and research

(S4) Research management developing a research strategy, project planning and delivery, risk management, formulating questions, selecting literature, using primary/secondary/diverse sources; using data, applying research methods, applying ethics

This module is designed to:

Provide students with an understanding of the processes required for the successful planning and delivery of research projects;

Introduce students to the latest, cutting edge technologies in their research field of interest;

Develop in students the transferrable communication skills that will enable them to disseminate their findings to both scientific and general audiences.

(LO1) Develop hypotheses and design a series of experiments that would allow these hypotheses to be tested

(LO2) Critically review the legal and moral frameworks within which scientific research must be conducted, in particular research ethics and current legislation;

(LO3) Effectively communicate research findings using writing styles for different audiences, including the scientific and lay communities, and to understand the need to promote the public understanding of science;

(LO4) Debate why and when biologists need to engage with mathematicians, computer scientists and physical scientists to obtain more quantitative, holistic or systems-based approaches to studying biological processes

(LO5) Critically review the latest scientific discoveries in their research field, and understand the principles underpinning cutting edge technologies that may be applied to their area of scientific investigation;

(LO6) Synthesise information, critically review evidence to support conclusions, and define complex problems by applying appropriate knowledge and skills.

(S1) Communication Skills

(S2) Organisational Skills

(S3) Lifelong learning skills

(S4) Problem solving/ critical thinking/ creativity analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

(S5) Global perspectives demonstrate international perspectives as professionals/citizens; locate, discuss, analyse, evaluate information from international sources; consider issues from a variety of cultural perspectives, consider ethical and social responsibility issues in international settings; value diversity of language and culture

To enable students to analyse biological data by:

Choice of appropriate statistical approaches to test hypotheses;

Critical understanding of the use of a range of advanced statistical tests for appropriate analysis and  model fitting of a range of biological datasets;

Using the software package, R;

Synthesizing information, summarising statistical findings, and using hypothesis testing to critically review evidence from experimental data to support conclusions.

(LO1) Illustrate and explain the methods of hypothesis testing

(LO2) Critically evaluate experimental design(s) used in data collection and then apply the appropriate statistical test(s).

(LO3) Design data collection methods appropriate to rigorous data analysis

(LO4) Synthesise information from data analysis, test statistical hypotheses and critically review evidence to support conclusions.

(S1) Problem solving skills

(S2) Numeracy

(S3) IT skills

(S4) Communication skills

(S5) Organisational skills

(S6) Lifelong learning skills

To introduce and advance knowledge of a range of statistical tests that are commonly used in the Biosciences;

To give experience in the implementation of these tests using statistical and programming software;

To enable students to learn how to interpret and analyse the output of these tests.

(LO1) To develop an understanding of  statistical hypothesis testing;

(LO2) To apply a range of relevant statistical tests to complex datasets to draw statistical conclusions;

(LO3) To critically assess the appropriateness of a statistical test;

(LO4) To intepret and report data collected in biological research.

(LO5) To develop programming skills relevant for statistical analysis.

(LO6) Use data visualisation techniques to present ‘big’ data

(S1) Numeracy (application of) manipulation of numbers, general mathematical awareness and its application in practical contexts (eg measuring, weighing, estimating and applying formulae);

(S2) Problem solving, critical thinking, creativity; analysing facts and situations and applying creative thinking to develop appropriate solutions.

To prepare students for their MSc research project module, this module will give students the opportunity to gain the knowledge and the skills specific to their project area.

(LO1) Demonstrate a systematic knowledge and critical understanding of the essential concepts in their chosen field of study;

(LO2) Demonstrate competency in a range of skills necessary to work in a research laboratory and to complete a successful research project;

(LO3) Develop and present a plan for a research project in the form of a grant proposal.

(LO4) Critically review scientific literature

(S1) Technical writing

(S2) Independence

(S3) Time management

(S4) Reflective learning

To give students the opportunity to work in a guided but independent fashion on an area of research related to their programme of study, making use of the knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere in the programme.

(LO1) Plan a piece of original scientific research;

(LO2) Design and perform a coherent set of investigations to test a hypothesis;

(LO3) Present work in the form of an oral presentation to a scientific audience and at an oral examination;

(LO4) Write final report in the form of a manuscript that would be suitable for submission as a scientific publication.

(S1) Research management: developing a research strategy, project planning and delivery, risk management, formulating questions, selecting literature, using primary / secondary / diverse sources, collecting and using data, applying research methods, applying ethics.

(S2) Self-management: readiness to accept responsibility (that is, leadership), flexibility, resilience, self-starting, initiative, integrity, willingness to take risks, appropriate assertiveness, time management, readiness to improve own performance based on feedback / reflective learning;

(S3) Team (group) working: respecting others, co-operating, negotiating / persuading, awareness of interdependence with others.