Postgraduate Course: Principles of Industrial Biotechnology (PGBI11103)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biological Sciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The course will introduce students to current applications of biotechnology in industry through overview lectures, site visits and laboratory experimentation. It will develop skills in basic molecular biology (DNA extraction, PCR, cloning, protein expression), as well as physicochemical analysis and gel electrophoresis. Assignments will focus on the keeping of laboratory records, reporting of experimental data and the critical analysis of laboratory findings. |
| Course description |
The students will carry out experiments in two areas relevant to current industrial biotechnology: anaerobic digestion and protein expression in bacterial cells. Link to a video describing the course from the Course Lecturer:
https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Principles+of+Industrial+Biotechnology/1_4pqkjy2v.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
68 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There will be three reports for students to complete:
Report 1 - Lab book assessment (20%)
Report 2 - Anaerobic Digestion (40%)
Report 3 - Recombinant protein production (40%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop key practical skills in lab-scale biotechnology and better understand commercial operations using these technologies at an industrial scale.
- Keep accurate, useful records of experimental procedures and results in a laboratory notebook
- Report experimental findings and conclusions accurately, concisely and logically.
- Analyse the weaknesses in experimental approaches and suggest alternative experiments.
- Relate the biological principles of pure- and mixed-culture systems to actual and potential industrial biotechnology.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Reactor operation and physicochemical analysis.
Purification and analysis of macromolecules.
Cloning and Sanger sequencing of DNA.
Laboratory record-keeping and reporting.
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| Keywords | Industrial Biotechnology,Anaerobic Digestion,Protein Expression,Molecular Biology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Heather Barker
Tel: (0131 6)51 3539
Email: Heather.Barker@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Karen Sutherland
Tel: (0131 6)50 8649
Email: Karen.Sutherland@ed.ac.uk |
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