The training activities will consist of theorethical classes, seminars and laboratory.

Theorethical classes

The teachers will explain the contingut of the subject with the support of material accessible to the internet. These expositive sessions will constitute the main part of the course. The connections of some parts of the subject matter have to be an object of in-depth study by the students, through autonomous work. To facilitate this task, information will be provided from textbooks, web pages, scientific articles related to the subject…

Seminars

The seminars will be given by the students themselves, individually or in groups, depending on the number of students enrolled and the availability of time.

The students will have to explain in a period of 10 minutes the resolution of a case study in the molecular biology of plants and propose some objectives aimed at its resolution. In addition, apart from the seminar and the question-and-answer discussion, the students will have to deliver a poster.

The seminars will be subject to evaluation, having an impact on the final grade.

Practical laboratory classes

The practical laboratory classes will consist of 3 sessions of 4 hours each. The protocols for carrying out the practices will be made available to students at the beginning of the academic year. During these sessions, some of the basic topics of plant biotechnology will be explored at an experimental level.

The practices will be mandatory and subject to evaluation, having an impact on the final grade. The language of the laboratory practical sessions will be English.

Use of AI

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. For seminar/case study submissions, students must clearly identify which parts weregenerated using AI technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding AI use in this assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or full penalties to the grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

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.

Continuous assessment

Assessment of the course is based on laboratory practicals, seminars, assessment of theoretical knowledge, and the completion of a practical case study.

Attendance at laboratory practical sessions is compulsory. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the loss of the right to be assessed in the remaining assessment activities of the course. Students will receive a Not Assessable (NA) grade if their absence from laboratory practical sessions exceeds 20% of the scheduled sessions.

Once passed, laboratory practicals will remain valid in subsequent academic years and will not need to be repeated if the student re-enrols in the course.

The laboratory practical assessment will consider: (1) attitude and participation during the practical sessions; (2) the experimental results obtained; and (3) the laboratory report. The report will consist of the presentation of the student's own results together with their interpretation and critical discussion.

Laboratory practicals account for 2 points out of the final grade (20%).

Seminars will be assessed through the preparation of a project and its oral presentation to the class (typically in poster format). This activity accounts for 1 point out of the final grade (10%).

Knowledge acquired from the lectures will be assessed as follows:

• The first part of the course will be assessed halfway through the teaching period by means of a written examination (first midterm), worth a maximum of 1.5 points towards the final grade, together with the submission of a practical case study, worth a maximum of 2.5 points.
• The second part of the course will be assessed by a written examination (second midterm) at the end of the teaching period, worth a maximum of 3 points towards the final grade.

The final course grade will be calculated as the sum of the marks obtained in the different assessment activities.

To pass the course, students must obtain a final grade of at least 5.0 out of 10. In addition, they must obtain a minimum grade of 5.0 out of 10 in the combined theoretical examinations (first and second midterms). Otherwise, the course will not be passed, even if the weighted average of all assessment activities is 5.0 or higher.

To be eligible for the resit examination, students must have completed assessment activities accounting for at least two-thirds (67%) of the final course grade. Otherwise, they will receive a Not Assessable (NA) grade.

Students may also take the resit examination to improve their theoretical grade, even if they have already passed the course. In this case, the grade obtained in the resit examination will replace the previous theory grade.

Single assessment

Students who choose the single-assessment option must attend all scheduled laboratory practical sessions.

The single assessment consists of a comprehensive examination including multiple-choice questions and essay questions covering both the first and second parts of the course. This examination accounts for 70% of the final grade.

The laboratory report accounts for 20% of the final grade, while the preparation of a poster and the submission of a recorded oral defence account for the remaining 10%.

The laboratory report, the poster and the recorded presentation may be submitted on the same dates established for continuous assessment or on the day of the comprehensive examination.

The single-assessment examination will take place on the same date scheduled for the final continuous-assessment examination.

To pass the course, students must obtain a minimum grade of 5.0 out of 10 in the comprehensive examination and a final course grade of at least 5.0 out of 10.

The review of grades will follow the same procedure established for continuous assessment.

Students will receive a Not Assessable (NA) grade when the assessment activities completed account for less than 67% of the final course grade.

Academic misconduct

Any irregularity committed during an assessment activity (academic misconduct, plagiarism, or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorized in the course syllabus) that may lead to a significant alteration of the grade will result in that activity being graded as 0. If the course syllabus stipulates that obtaining a minimum mark in this assessment is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who incurs any of these irregularities.