Biotechnology And Agriculture Maintenance

The purpose of this course is to survey the methods and applications of biotechnology and to examine the consequences of developments in this area. This is an area of great public interest with a pressing need for informed debate. The course is organized by topic and covers many aspects of biotechnology, including those that relate to animals, plants, microbes, human health, agriculture, medicine and the environment. A specialist guest lecturer will introduce each topic with a lecture and lead the subsequent class discussion.  Students learn about the scientific basics from the textbook Introduction to Biotechnology and will also investigate and present viewpoints on ethical issues in various fields of biotechnology.

CONTENT

• Bioethics
• Gene Therapy
• Plant Biotechnology
• Marine Biotechnology
• Bioinformatics & the Pharmaceutical Industry
• Vaccine Development
• Animal Biotechnology
• Intellectual Property & Career Choices
• Risk Perception of Biotechnology
• Biotechnology and the Developing World
• Environmental Impact of Biotechnology
• Gene Screening & Pharmacogenomics
• Stem Cell Biology
• Microbial Biotechnology

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participant will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.