The learning activities are divided into three sections: theoretical classes, problem-solving classes, and laboratory practical sessions, each with its own specific methodology. These activities will be complemented by a series of tutorial sessions scheduled additionally. The organisation and teaching methodology for each type of activity are described below.

Theoretical classes

The theoretical content will be delivered mainly by the teaching staff through lectures supported by audiovisual materials. The lecture slides used by the instructors will be available to students on the course Virtual Campus before the start of each topic. This component will be complemented by interactive activities such as Socrative, which will be conducted exclusively in person during class, and in which participation will be assessed.

Problem-solving classes

Throughout the course, 7 hours will be devoted to problem-solving sessions.

The problem statements will be made available through the Virtual Campus. These classes aim to consolidate the content covered in theoretical lectures, as well as to familiarise students with experimental strategies used in biochemistry, the interpretation of scientific data, and the resolution of problems based on real experimental situations.

Laboratory practical sessions

Each morning and afternoon group will be subdivided into subgroups, the lists of which will be announced during the first weeks of the course. To ensure the proper functioning of practical sessions, group changes will only be accepted if duly justified.

Attendance at laboratory sessions requires a lab coat, safety goggles for splash protection, and the practical protocol (available on the Virtual Campus) printed and read in advance.

The practical sessions, as well as their assessment, will be carried out in groups. After each session, a questionnaire/report must be submitted containing the experimental results and answers to the proposed questions. Attendance at practical sessions is mandatory, except in duly documented cases.

SAFETY NOTICE IN THE LABORATORY: Any student involved in an incident with potential serious safety consequences may be removed from the laboratory and fail the course.

Tutoring sessions

The aim of these sessions is to resolve doubts, review basic concepts not covered in class, and provide guidance on the sources of information used. These sessions will not be lecture-based and will not introduce new official syllabus content; they will consist of discussion and debate. Individual tutorials will be arranged upon student request.

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.

Theory

Individual assessment through:

• Two partial exams with multiple-choice questions and/or short-answer questions. There are no requirements to be eligible to take any of the scheduled exams. The total weight of the partial exams will be 70% of the final grade (35% each partial exam).

Problem-solving sessions

Individual assessment through:

• An exam in which problem-solving exercises will be proposed and which will take place on the same day as the second partial exam. The weight of the problem-solving assessment will be 10% of the final grade.

Group assessment through:

• A problem-solving exercise submitted in class. The weight of this activity will be 5% of the final grade.

• Participation in class in solving exercises. The weight of this activity will be 5% of the final grade.

Practical sessions

Group assessment through:

• Presentation of the results obtained during the practical sessions and completion of the proposed questionnaire. Attitude and behaviour during laboratory sessions will also be taken into account.

Attendance at laboratory practical sessions is mandatory. The weight of the practical assessment will be 10% of the final grade.

Final qualification

To pass the course, students must obtain an overall grade equal to or higher than 5 out of 10 and a minimum grade of 3.5 in each of the theory partial exams and in the average grade of the problem-solving exams. If any of these grades is below 3.5, the maximum final grade will be 3.5 out of 10.

Single assessment

Students who opt for the single assessment system will take, on the same day as the second continuous assessment partial exam, the exam covering the entire theory syllabus. The exam will have the same format as the continuous assessment exam and the grade obtained will represent 70% of the final course grade.

On the same day, the problem-solving exam will be held, accounting for 20% of the final grade.

If any of these exams does not achieve the minimum grade of 3.5, or if the average of the different grades (theory, problems and practical sessions) does not reach 5, students will have to take the resit exam in order to meet these minimum requirements to pass the course.

Attendance at practical sessions and submission of the report are mandatory (10% of the final grade).

Resit exam

To participate in the resit exams, students must have previously been assessed through a set of activities whose weighting corresponds to a minimum of two thirds of the total course or module grade. Therefore, students will receive a grade of “Not Assessable” when the completed assessment activities account for less than 67% of the final grade.

On the same day, there will be specific resit exams for the first partial exam, the second partial exam and problem-solving, for students who need to recover any of these components.

The grades obtained in the resit exam will replace the grades obtained in the partial exams. For exams that are not retaken, the original grade will be maintained.

If any of these exams receives a grade below 3.5, the maximum final grade will be 3.5 out of 10.

Students wishing to retake a passed exam in order to improve their grade must notify this at least 7 days in advance. At the time of notification, they will automatically waive their previous grade. Students who retake an exam to improve their grade will not be eligible for Honours (Matrícula d’Honor).

Other considerations

Students who are unable to attend an individual assessment test due to a justified reason (such as illness, death of a first-degree relative or accident) and provide the corresponding official documentation to the Degree Coordinator will be entitled to take the exam on another date.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in the preparation of practical reports. However, their use is permitted for support tasks, such as literature or information searches, text correction or translations. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in assessed activities will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Any irregularity in an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism or inappropriate use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorised in the course syllabus) that may lead to a significant variation in the grade will result in a grade of 0 for that activity. If the course syllabus establishes that obtaining a minimum grade in that assessment activity is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final course grade will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against students who commit any of these irregularities.