External summary

The MSc in Management of Bioeconomy, Innovation and Governance (MSc BIG) responds to the rapid growth in the European and global bioeconomy by providing the core knowledge and skills needed to compete in rapidly evolving, highly skilled workforce. The bioeconomy focuses on making better use of natural resources, adding value throughout the agricultural supply chain, and bringing health technologies to market. As the fastest growing segment of the European economy, and part of the worldwide uptake of the bioeconomy, there is a growing need for specialised education and training. The MSc BIG Programme provides its graduates with the skills to join the bioeconomy, or to upgrade existing skills. Graduates will be able to seek employment in the public or private sectors. The University of Edinburgh provides an ideal context for the MSc BIG with its world renowned strengths in the life sciences and biotechnology, proximity to government, and collaboration with bioeconomy industries in and beyond the UK.

Educational aims of programme

The overarching educational goal of the MSc BIG Programme is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to be competitive in the growing bioeconomy workforce. To achieve goal the programme will focus on bringing students up to date with current life science and biotechnology and will introduce them to state-of-the-art research on innovation systems and science and technology policy, regulation and governance, knowledge management and intellectual property. Students will of course be assessed on their understanding of core concepts and theories, but the programme as a whole is focused on application of theory to practical problems arising in the bioeconomy around, for example, firm strategy, policy coherence, negotiation, and management of intellectual assets.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Graduates of the MSc BIG Programme will have a theoretical grounding and practical understanding in the following areas:

• Current trends and recent achievements in life science innovation
• Innovation systems theory as it relates to bioeconomy
• Science and technology policy particularly in the life sciences and biotechnology
• Regulation and governance of the bioeconomy
• Knowledge management and intellectual property in life science innovation

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Graduates will have a firm knowledge base about the bioeconomy, its current state, potential, obstacles and opportunities. In addition to this factual knowledge, graduates will have been required to demonstrate their independent ability and problem formulation, analysis and resolution. These include skills associated with being able to see individual problems in structural terms, be able to scale problems and solutions up or down, and to be able to differentiate situations in which problems and solutions are scale-dependent. Graduates will be encouraged throughout the programme to develop these skills involving the fusion of theory with the details of actual fact patterns.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Graduates of this program will have already realised upon their application to the programme that life science innovation and the bioeconomy are key to developing sustainable industry, to lay new courses of citizen behaviours with respect to green technologies, and to enable science and technology in pursuit of these objectives through sound policy and smart regulations. They will have realised as well that the bioeconomy is as uncharted as the information and communications technology industry was decades ago. The MSc BIG will use the opportunities and uncertainties inherent in new domain of economic activity to enhance the presumed autonomy and ambition of applicants to the programme.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates will have developed and refined skills in oral and written communication throughout the programme. With respect to oral communication skills, graduates will have experience in individual presentation skills, group work, and interacting with individuals in the public and private sector. Written skills will include essay assignments, exercises writing policy briefing notes, different kinds of analytical reports useful in the private sector.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Many of the same considerations that applied in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy apply to personal effectiveness in the sense that graduates will have been required to demonstrate their ability to efficiently and effectively analyse and respond to problems throughout the programme. These skills will be developed through various frameworks for self-actualisation and competency development integrated throughout the curriculum.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

Graduates will leave with new or improved presentation skills, skills for working in groups, research and writing skills, ability to frame problems and analyse them according to structure and scale, translate knowledge from theoretical to practical contexts and the reverse, and will have improved organisational and time management skills.

Programme structure and features

Insert TextThe BIG program concentrates on delivering practice-oriented but theoretically grounded course content to ensure that graduates will have knowledge and skills desired by prospective private and public sector employers. The course content has been determined through study of published and grey literature, consultation with individuals and market research.

The MSc BIG Programme is intended to serve students focused on accruing knowledge and skills that make them work-ready. To guarantee to students and prospective employers that the knowledge and skills are being effectively taught, two steps have been taken. The first is that the Programme has 160 credits of required elements. Professional programmes, including many of the competitor/comparator courses discussed in the market survey report, similarly have a large proportion of required courses.

This approach distinguishes to a degree the MSc BIG Programme from other STIS Taught Programmes, but the element of modular courses design being introduced, and the creation of new courses that will serve as recommended options between STIS MSc programmes and beyond, means that the MSc BIG courses are not isolated in one programme.

Second, the knowledge and skills needed in the bioeconomy have been identified through the competitor/comparator analysis and market research including the on-line survey. Appendix F contains two tables in which the skills and topics preferred by survey respondents are linked to specific courses. Explicit tracking provides a mechanism through which strong programme coherence and intellectual integrity can be demonstrated. Specific learning outcomes must be achieved, but how they are achieved is a matter of negotiation in which specific student interests can be accommodated.

12a)      Required Courses (160 credits)

12b)      Optional Courses (20 credits)

12c)      Timetable

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

The MSc BIG programme draws upon current, real life case studies and the latest research findings. Experiential rather than rote learning is encouraged, and is accomplished through: Problem-based group work activities; presentations; interactive seminars; and conventional lectures. The programme also includes high-profile guest lectures to ensure the latest thinking from key opinion leaders is provided.

Facilities include seminar rooms with Smart boards and Internet access, the University’s library systems.

In the second semester the University hosts an Innovative learning week during which students can take part of optional opportunities to engage with other programmes and pedagogy.

Assessment methods and strategies

Students are assessed on written work, primarily standard academic essays.

Career opportunities

The Masters in Management of Bioeconomy, Innovation and Governance (MSc BIG) offered by Innogen at the University of Edinburgh is a vocationally-oriented postgraduate qualification designed to meet the increasing demand for skilled people in the growing global bioeconomy.

Society is challenged to make better use of existing resources, add value throughout life science innovation supply chains and bring new technologies to both existing and emerging markets.

To meet these modern challenges, MSc BIG provides students with a dynamic set of competencies and knowledge about life science innovation – as highly desired by prospective employers in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Graduates excel in strategic thinking that brings globally contextualised solutions to practical problems relating to firm strategy, policy and regulation, collaboration and intellectual property. A work-based dissertation ensures that students gain experience directly relevant to careers in the bioeconomy.

The programme welcomes students from a variety of backgrounds, including scientists seeking a career outside the lab, social scientists, business students and bioeconomy professionals developing new career pathways.

Other items

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