5 ECTS credits
125 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4021502ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
Department
Bio-Engineering Sciences
Educational team
Jo Van Ginderachter (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
13 contact hours Lecture
112 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

The students will, during the HOC, be introduced to the most important aspects of Project Writing.

Sections that will be dealt with are:

  1. Insight in the structure of a project proposal
  2. How to write a good state of the art/rationale? This section will contain examples of a good Rationale and tips and trics on writing a good rationale, and will provide feedback on how to perform a good literature review (use of Web of Science, use of Pubmed, use of other internet sources, journals and journal metrics, when and how to cite references.
  3. How to write a good Objectives section? Examples + tips and trics
  4. How to write a good Methodology or Work Plan? Examples + tips and trics
  5. How to compose a Research Planning/GANTT chart and Data Management Plan? Examples + tips and trics
  6. Plagiarism: what is plagiarism? Which types of plagiarism exist?
  7. Students will, finally, be introduced to the principles of the “Project Cycle Management” methodology. This methodology teaches how to (i) initiate, (ii) plan, (iii) execute, (iv) close a project.

Students will have to write a research proposal based on the acquired principles during the HOC. Exact guidelines for writing such a proposal (lay-out, length,...) will be provided.

The scientific topic can be related to, but should be sufficiently different from the student’s Master thesis topic. To assess for this, the students will be requested to briefly present their Master thesis topic and, subsequently, the scientific topic of their Project proposal. This presentation should not take longer than 10 minutes and will be in presence of the entire class. The students will be challenged on the choice of their topic by the professor and by their peers.

Course material
Digital course material (Required) : The Powerpoint slides of the HOC will be provided, Canvas
Additional info

The Powerpoint slides of the HOC will be provided via Canvas

Learning Outcomes

General competences

  • Students are able to autonomously identify a scientific problem, which is sufficiently different from their Master thesis topic.
  • The students are able to briefly present this topic and defend their project
  • Students are able to apply the principles of good Project writing in a research project
  • Students are autonomously able to compose such a research project, that is scientifically sound and adheres to the guidelines of good project writing  

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Other exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The evaluation for this course will be based on an individually written research project proposal, in agreement with the topic proposed during the short presentations, and adhering to the guidelines and principle outlined during the HOC. The research proposal will be scored based on an evaluation matrix that will judge different aspects of the scientific writing and of the scientific content and will count for 100% of the final score

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Molecular Biology: Standaard traject