Download Master program in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics

Studying Biotechnology at the
VERSION: March, 2016
Information for the academic year 2016/2017
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General information for studying Biotechnology at the
University of Milan
Faculty of Sciences and Technology
http://www.scienzemfn.unimi.it/http://www.scienzemfn.unimi.it/
Application and admission:
http://www.unimi.it/ENG/courses/29528.htm
Admission office:
via Celoria, 22 - 20133 Milano
Fax 02 503.13872 - e-mail: [email protected]
Opening time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Secretariat for teaching activities in BIOTECHNOLOGY:
Via Celoria, 26 (2nd floor, building A) – 20133 Milano
e-mail: [email protected]
Secretary: Dr. Alessandra Pera
For details on course programs, course timetable and optional courses activation visit the
website: http://www.ccdbiotec.unimi.it/
Lecture halls:
via Golgi 19 – 20133 Milano
via Celoria, 20-26 - 20133 Milano
Grading: The University Educational Credits
Degree courses are structured in University Educational Credits (“crediti formativi universitari”
or CFU). A CFU corresponds to 25 hours of study work, 8 hours of attending lectures (plus 17
hours of study) or 16 h of practical classes (lab and/or computer work) plus 9 hours of study.
The average annual workload of a full time student is conventionally set as 60 credits.
*1 CFU equals 1 ECTS (European Credit transfer AND Accumulation System).
To obtain the credits, the student must pass the final exam of each class. Grades are expressed
over 30: the minimum score to pass an exam is 18/30 (sufficient), the maximum score 30/30
(excellent).
The bachelor program consists of 180 CFU and the Master program of 120 CFU.
Opportunities of stages
To find opportunities for stages or research projects for longer periods explore the site of the
Department of Biosciences http://eng.dbs.unimi.it/ecm/home
and in particular the list at the following link:
http://www.campagnenaturalistiche.unimi.it/offerte_tesi/
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Bachelor program in Biotechnology (NEW)
Warning: from the academic year 2016/2017 the old Bachelor degree program
in Industrial and environmental biotechnology will no longer be active. The new
bachelor program in Biotechnology (corso di laurea in biotecnologia) replaces it.
Application and admission
For information, refer to: http://www.unimi.it/ENG/courses/31190.htm#c31336
Classification of Scholarly Field: L-2 Biotechnology
Degree program duration: 3 years (180 Credits)
Attendance: Mandatory
The Biotechnology bachelor program is coordinated by an Interdepartmental Teaching
Board under the co-responsibility of the following Departments of the University of
Milano:
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Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Production, Landscape, Agroenergy
Biosciences
Chemistry
Health, Animal Science and Food Safety
Veterinary Science and Public Health
Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences
Head of the Interdepartmental Teaching Board: Prof. Donatella Taramelli
Website of the bachelor program: www.biotecnologia.unimi.it
Course Objectives
The Undergraduate Degree Course in Biotechnology aims at providing students with a
solid basic knowledge of the molecular and cellular processes taking place in living
systems with an interdisciplinary perspective typical of Biotechnology. The
Biotechnology Course also focuses on advanced scientific methodologies, such as
bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, and molecular modeling, and their applications
to the agricultural, environmental, food science, biological and industrial,
pharmaceutical and veterinary sectors. The Student is also offered a number of credits
on regulatory laws concerning Biotechnology, on bioethical issues, as well as on
scientific communication, patenting and intellectual property protection, legislation,
fundraising and management.
The Course is held in Italian and comprises a common set of classes
(Semesters 1-3) during which students will acquire basic skills in the molecular and
cellular frameworks and essential methods for subsequent detailed studies. During the
following three semesters the student may choose one of the subjects
(curricula) offered for a detailed study of certain aspects typical of biotechnology
related to the agricultural, environmental and food science, biological and industrial,
pharmaceutical and veterinary sectors as summarized below:
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Curricula in Biotechnology
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Agro-food and environmental
Biological-industrial
Pharmaceutical
Veterinary
The Department of Biosciences is mainly responsible of the biological-industrial
curriculum. For details about this and the other curricula please visit
www.biotecnologia.unimi.it
Career and Employment
The graduate in Biotechnology may access several professional careers including,
besides basic and applied research: the agricultural, environmental and food industry,
including the area of animal nutrition and of plant production; the pharmaceutical
industry; the chemical industry for the production of compounds with added industrial
value (including biofuels), both in an sustainable manner and from renewable sources;
the cosmetic industry; the industry and services for environmental biotechnology;
laboratories of reproduction biotechnology, both in the medical and veterinary domains;
research centers and biotechnological services for the application of computing science
to genomics, proteomics and metabolomics; certification institutions, national
healthcare facilities; institutions that process healthcare regulations or patents to
exploit biotechnological products and processes; toxicology and environmental study
and monitoring centers (Italian and international agencies) and scientific information.
Courses can provide a different number of credits (CFU, “Crediti formativi universitari”).
Each CFU is calculated as:
8 hours of frontal lectures
16 hours of laboratory classes under the supervision of an instructor
25 hours of work on an individual research project
STUDY PLAN IN COMMOM TO ALL THE CURRICULA
1st Year
Semester
1st
1st
1st
2nd
2nd
2nd
2nd
Mandatory courses
Module
General cell Biology
General
and
Inorganic
Chemistry
Mathematics
Organic Chemistry
Elements of Economy and
Elements of economy
Bioethics (tot. CFU: 7)
Bioethics
Physics
Genetics
Total CFU
CFU
10
8
6
8
4
3
6
8
53
4
Semester not set
Mandatory activity
English
CFU
1
2nd Year (activated from 2015-2016)
Semester
1st
1st
1st
Mandatory courses
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
General Microbiology
Module
Total CFU
CFU
9
9
9
27
3rd Year (activated from 2016-2017)
Semester
2nd
Mandatory activity
Final exam
From the second semester of the
following curricula
CFU
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2nd year the student selects one of the
Industrial biotechnology (coordinated by the Department of Biosciences)
Agro-food and environmental biotechnology
Pharmaceutical biotechnology
Veterinary biotechnology
Curriculum: Industrial Biotechnology (biological-industrial)
2nd Year
Semester
Mandatory courses
CFU
2nd
Cellular and Functional Biology of Plants
8
2nd
Cell Biology of Animals
6
2nd
Fermentation Biotechnology
6
2nd
Chemistry Methods for Biotechnology
8
3rd Year (activated from the academic year 2016-2017)
Semester
Mandatory courses
CFU
1st
Bioinformatics and Biostatistics
9
1st
Microbial Biotechnology
6
1st
Plant industrial Biotechnology
9
1st
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Applications in Biotechnology
12
Careers in Biotechnology
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The student must acquire 6 credits (1 course) from those listed below:
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Semester
Optional courses
CFU
2nd
Computational Biology
6
2nd
Biotechnological Processes for the Production of Natural Compounds 6
Semester
Mandatory activity
CFU
undefined
Laboratory internship
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Free-choice courses
In addition to the classes listed above, students must acquire 12 credits freely chosen among all
the courses activated by the University, provided they are consistent with the aims of the degree
program and their content does not with that of other classes. Students can also select classes
offered by other curricula of the degree (see www.biotecnologia.unimi.it).
Master program in Molecular Biotechnology and
Bioinformatics (activated in the academic year
2016/17)
The course in Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, an entirely study program in English,
will be activated for the first time in the academic year 2016/2017, and will replace the Master
degree “Biotecnologie molecolari e bioinformatica”, whose second year will still be taught in the
academic year 2016/2017. The latter is mostly taught in Italian, although some courses are in
English.
Course Objectives
The Molecular Biotechnology & Bioinformatics is a Master degree entirely taught in
English that aims at providing students with advanced skills in molecular biotechnology
and in computational biology and bioinformatics, with a strong focus on the most
advanced tools and approaches for the analysis of genomes, proteomes and
metabolomes. The main goal of the Molecular Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Master degree
is to give the students a broad theoretical and practical background needed to apply their
knowledge to any biological/biotechnology problems.
Specific goal of Molecular Biotechnology And Bioinformatics is to provide a deep and up-to-date
knowledge in the following core subjects:
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bioinformatics, including aspects of process engineering;
molecular biology and biotechnology
functional genomics
'omics' technologies;
protein expression systems
structural biochemistry
molecular enzymology
data analysis.
In addition, the student will have the opportunity to develop further specific disciplines of their
interest, choosing from courses in nanotechnology, biophysics, molecular microbiology,
advanced genetics, molecular parasitology, economics and others. The Molecular
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Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Master degree combines lecture-based courses (in the first year
and in the first term of the second year) and an experimental laboratory project leading to a
dissertation (second year), to be chosen by the students among many projects offered by the
University of Milan and other research institutes, including private companies.
Career and Employment
The Molecular Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Master degree provides employment
opportunities in the following areas:
management of production facilities in the biotechnological industry, including diagnostics,
chemicals, and agro-food industry; promotion of scientific development and technological
innovation in Research & Development in different industrial settings; service management in
areas related to industrial biotechnology, as well as in Quality Control laboratories; research
laboratories in both private and public institutions. Graduates will be able to operate, in their own
fields of specialization, at a high level of responsibility, managing the ethical, technical and legal
aspects of their work. In addition, thanks to its strong commitment to teaching a broad range of
biotechnological disciplines, the Molecular Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Master degree is ideal
to provide the background knowledge required for Ph.D. and other higher education courses.
The specific business contexts that the Molecular Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Graduate can
enter are, among others: the pharmaceutical industry, chemical industry, food industry, industry
and services for environmental biotechnology, biotechnology service centers applying information
technology, genomics and proteomics research laboratories of both public and private institutions.
The Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics graduates will possess full and updated
knowledge in:
° the production of intermediates and products for fine chemicals and for the food industry
 industrial fermentation processes for the production of metabolites and for obtaining energy
from renewable sources
° control of biotechnological processes
° development of innovative diagnostic techniques
° analysis of nucleotide and protein sequences
° development of new biologically active molecules through the study of molecular interactions
between proteins and nucleic acids, and the identification of new molecular targets
° design and development of bioinformatics platforms and new methods for biological data
analysis
Classification of Scholarly Field: L-8 Biotechnology
Degree program duration: 2 years (120 CFU)
Attendance: Mandatory
Degree coordinator: Professor Paolo Landini
STUDY PLAN (Course syllabus)
1st Year
Semester
Mandatory courses
CFU
1st
Methods in bioinformatics
Functional genomics and bioinformatics
6
1st
10
7
1st
1st
2nd
2nd
1st
2nd
Molecular and cellular microbiology
Advanced plant cell biotechnology
Advanced molecular and cellular biotechnology
Protein engineering and molecular enzymology
Rational design and structural characterization of bioactive
molecules
Biotechnological products and processes
6
6
10
6
6
6
Elective courses
2nd
2nd
2nd
Macromolecular structural biology
Advanced bioinformatics for biotechnology
Molecular breeding and plant genetics
6
6
6
2nd Year (Master Degree: “Biotecnologie molecolari e bioinformatica)
Semester
1st
Mandatory course
Patenting and Technology Transfer
annual
Laboratory Internship and Final Exam
CFU
6
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¶The
CFU are acquired by taking in English (and passing) the exam of one of the classes taught
in English
Other classes offered (in Italian):
Semester
1st
1st
CFU
Bio-nanotechnology Curriculum: Bioinformatics
Advanced Environmental Biotechnology - Curriculum:
biotechnology for industry and environment
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Molecular
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International studies:
Prof. David Horner
[email protected]
Erasmus+ program Committee:
Prof. Laura Popolo (coordinator)
[email protected]
Prof. Concetta Compagno
[email protected]
Prof. Stefano Ricagno
[email protected]
Head of the Department of Biosciences:
Prof. Lucia Colombo
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[email protected]
Coordinator for the Biological-industrial curriculum of the Biotechnology Bachelor
Degree
Prof. Paolo Landini
[email protected]
Coordinator of the Master Program in “Molecular Biotechnology and Bioinformatics”
Prof. Paolo Landini
[email protected]
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