3 ECTS credits
75 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1024206BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester
2nd semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculteit Wetenschappen en Bio-ingenieurswetensch.
Department
Physics
Educational team
Michael Tytgat (course titular)
Activities and contact hours
13 contact hours Lecture
30 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

This course consists of about 5 lectures that each time focus on a different topic relevant to society. The list of topics may vary every academic year. Examples are:

  • nuclear techniques in society (nuclear power, nuclear medicine, …)
  • energy (resources, storage, transport, sustainability …)
  • weather and climate change
  • physics through machine learning and artificial intelligence
  • medical physics (imaging, radiotherapy …)
  • astronomy themes with societal impact (satellites, are we alone in the Universe, Mars exploration …)
  • biophysics and synthetic biology
  • … 
Additional info

Outgoing Erasmus students can follow the lectures of this course online. The oral exam and the final project presentation can also be organized online.  

Students will receive a digital copy of all lecture material.  

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Students acquire insight into the basic physics of a number of topics relevant to society and are able to follow and to provide well-founded arguments in related debates.  

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
LEC Presentation determines 40% of the final mark.

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

  • written exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

Within the LEC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • presentation with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written Exam: based on the content of the 5 lecture themes; 60% of the final mark  

Oral Exam: students work independently on a project related to the 5 lecture topics and provide a final oral presentation; 40% of the final mark 

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:
Bachelor of Physics and Astronomy: Default track (only offered in Dutch)