BIOTECHNOLOGIES

The course aims to provide the knowledge to understand biotechnologies and their applications in industrial, environmental, food, circular economy, renewable energy, and bioremediation sectors.

The course involves metabolic pathways and their influence on biotechnological production and applications, recombinant proteins, and biotransformations. Furthermore, microbiological screening methodologies, production process improvement, production facilities, and production process optimization will be explored in depth.

Knowledge and Understanding:
Graduates possess knowledge of biotechnological techniques for biofuel production, natural resource valorization, soil bioremediation, biofertilization, cultural heritage conservation, and food biotechnology, including microbial transformation processes in industrial settings and fermentation processes for the production of high-value products derived from food and industrial waste.
Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding:
Graduates are capable of evaluating the best technologies and biotechnologies applied to soil bioremediation, biofertilization, organic waste valorization, bioenergy production, biofuels, and bio-based compounds, as well as food biotechnology and cultural heritage conservation.
Judgment Autonomy:
Graduates are skilled in processing complex information and data from diverse sources, analyzing, manipulating, and integrating them to produce clear and accurate summaries. They are able to draw relevant conclusions and propose concrete actions, considering the scientific, technical, and practical aspects of the solutions. Additionally, they can independently evaluate the environmental impacts of a production process, in terms of human health and ecosystem effects, and identify potential improvements to optimize sustainability.
Communication Skills:
Graduates will acquire appropriate written and oral communication skills, as well as modern competencies to analyze, propose, and critically discuss experimental data with both specialist and non-specialist audiences. This includes presenting and disseminating experimental data and discussing current issues related to the development of biotechnology.
Learning and Communication Capacity:
Graduates will develop the ability to learn and deepen their understanding of innovative research aspects and to address current issues in applied biotechnology across industrial, environmental, and food sectors.

For a clearer understanding of the topics covered in the course, a basic knowledge of microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology is recommended.

Microbial Biotechnology: Major Microorganisms Applied in Large-Scale Biotechnological Processes and Laboratory-Scale Microbial Biotechnology Innovations.
Metabolic diversity: microbial metabolisms study with their environmental and biotechnological applications.
Microorganism and environment interactions: bioremediation, circular economy and production of secondary high added value product.
Wastewater treatment plants, purification, anaerobic digestion.
Bioplastics and biofuels.
Biotransformations.
Biotechnology in the food sector: application of fermentative processes in the food sector and food waste treatment.
Methodologies: screening, production processes, improvement of production processes, bioreactors, products recovery.
Animal biotechnology.

The course materials include resources provided by the instructor, such as peer-reviewed articles and comprehensive scientific reviews.

The exam includes an oral exam and the drafting and presentation of a biotechnological project at the students' choice on an innovative topic.
The project will be prepared during the course, identifying gaps on current topics, and proposing a biotechnological project through the integration and theoretical application of the knowledge learned during the lessons.

oral

Classroom teaching and assignment of reviews and scientific articles.