The course consists of three modules, which have been programmed in an integrated way so that the student will have to relate throughout the course to the content and activities programmed to achieve the skills indicated in this guide.

Several learning strategies will be combined:

Theory classes: Students must acquire the scientific and technical knowledge of this course by attending these classes and complementing them with the autonomous study of the topics explained. At the beginning of the course, students will be given a detailed calendar of the topics that will be worked on throughout the course, as well as the bibliography that they will have to consult to prepare for each theory class and the autonomous study of the topics explained. Within this module, classes will be based on master or expository lectures and in a brief discussion of the same.

Seminars/case resolution classes: The purpose of these sessions is: a) working methodological aspects, b) facilitate the understanding of the knowledge presented in the theoretical classes, c) enable the students to design basic experiments id) make a bridge between the participatory theoretical classes and the practical work of the laboratory, to integrate the theoretical knowledge with the practical ones. The students will work on specific practical cases that will have to be developed during the course. In addition, the bibliography that will be consulted and the relationship of each session with the subjects treated in the participative theoretical classes will also be indicated. Attendance at these sessions is mandatory. In case of absence for unjustified reasons, there will be a penalty in the seminar module grade.

In these activities, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is permitted but in a restricted manner. Therefore, for this subject, the use of AI is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

Laboratory work: The objectives of these activities are: a) facilitate the understanding of the knowledge exposed to the theory classes, b) apply the knowledge developed in the sessions of seminars/case resolution, c) acquire manual skills, d) interpret results and e) acquire the ability to work with microorganisms. Class attendance is compulsory to be able to acquire the skills of the course. To take this course the student must be passed the test of Safety and Biosafety that he/she will find in the corresponding Moodle space. It is mandatory to present, on the first day of class, the printed PDF document generated when passing the test. Also, it is necessary to know and accept the operating rules of the laboratories of the Faculty of Biosciences. In addition, the student must follow the rules of work indicated by the teaching staff. For safety reasons, if the two tests have not been passed, or the student does not wear a lab coat and safety glasses, access to the lab will not be allowed. Finally, to achieve good performance and acquire the competencies corresponding to this activity, the student must make a comprehensive reading of the proposed practices before their completion.

Additional information

To support the training activities indicated above, classroom tutoring sessions can be programmed at the request of the students. Likewise, the students will be able to carry out individual tutorials in the offices of the teaching staff responsible for the course: Neus Ferrer Miralles (C3-331), Eloi Parladé (C3/411) and Maira Martínez Alonso (C3-329).

The student will have at the Moodle space all the documentation delivered by the teacher for the good monitoring of the course. He/she will also be able to consult the teaching space of the Degree Coordination to obtain updated information.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

The evaluation of the course will be individual and continued through the following tests:

Assessment of the theory classes module (60% of the global mark): During the course, two written exams of this module will be programmed. Each of the tests will have a weight of 50% of the module's mark, but the average will only be used if the test score is equal or superior to 5; otherwise, the student will have to carry out a second-chance examination of the failed written test.

Each test will consist of short answer questions, aimed at assessing whether the key conceptual objectives have been achieved, and/or multiple choice test questions which will allow the evaluation of a large part of the contents.

Assessment of the seminar/case resolution classes module (20% of the overall mark): The evaluation will include the following aspects: autonomous deliveries, oral presentation of the work done, and written tests consisting of multiple choice questions that will include the different aspects covered in the seminar sessions.

Only the average will be made if the score of the tests is equal to or superior to 5.

Assessment of lab work module (20% of the global mark): The evaluation will include the following aspects:

Completion of a questionnaire and monitoring of practical skills acquired which will consist of the delivery of different practical results to the teaching staff during the laboratory sessions (2% of the overall mark).

Oral presentation of the practical results (8% of the overall mark)

Written test (10% of the overall mark), which will consist of multiple choice test questions.

Only the average will be made if the mark of the tests is equal to or superior to 5.

Final Considerations:

• To pass the course, you must obtain a score of 5 or superior in each module. Students who do not pass any of the modules will be able to retake them on the scheduled date for the final evaluation of the course.
• To be eligible for the retake process, the student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two-thirds of the final score of the course. Thus, the student will be graded as Non-evaluable if the weighing of all conducted evaluation activities is less than 67% of the final score.
• Students who can not attend an individual assessment test for a justified cause and provide the corresponding documentation will be entitled to take the test in question on another date.
• Students who wish to improve their grade will renunciate to that previously obtained, and she/he will have to perform the re-assessment of all the contents corresponding to the different modules of the course on the day scheduled for that purpose.
• From the second enrolment, the repeating students will not have to carry out the activities, nor the evaluations of those skills surpassed, corresponding to the modules of seminars and practices. That is, the mark obtained in these modules will be saved, as long as they have been passed.

Any irregularity in an assessment act (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless this use is expressly authorized in the teaching guide), which may lead to a significant variation in the grade, means that this act will be graded with a 0. In the event that the teaching guide provides that in order to pass the subject it is an essential requirement to have obtained a minimum grade in this assessment act or that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0. Apart from this, a disciplinary process may be initiated against the student who incurs any of these irregularities.

Single evaluation

This subject considers the single assessment system that consists of a single summary test in which the contents of the entire theory program of the subject will be assessed. The test will consist of short-answer questions aimed at assessing whether the key conceptual objectives of the subject have been achieved, as well as multiple-choice and/or true/false test-type questions, which will allow a large part of the content to be assessed. The grade obtained in this synthesis test will account for 60% of the final grade for the subject and must be equal to or greater than 5 to average with the seminars module. The single assessment will be done on thesameday as the subject's assessment 2.

The evaluation of the seminar and lab work modules will follow the same process as the continuous evaluation. The grade obtained from both modules will account for 40% of the final grade of the subject. The seminar and lab work modules are compulsory attendance for all sessions. It is required to have passed both modules (grade of 5 or higher) in order to pass the subject.