Module Information
Course Delivery
Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
---|---|
Lecture | 1 x 2 hour lectures per week |
Seminars / Tutorials | 5 hours tutorials |
Practical | 2 x 4 hours laboratory/field practicals |
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Exam | 3 Hours Written Examination | 50% |
Semester Assessment | Essay : 3000 words | 40% |
Semester Assessment | Oral presentation : 20 minutes | 10% |
Supplementary Assessment | 3 Hours Resit failed component(s) or equivalent | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Critically evaluate the challenges facing land based agriculture to substitute for fossil carbon
Demonstrate a fundamental and practical knowledge of crop performance traits and the technologies available for crop improvement.
Evaluate the relative limitations and merits of different technologies for crop improvement
Demonstrate an awareness of the social and societal issues associated with the application (and non-application) of different biotechnology options such as GM
Content
The aim of the module is:
To detail the objectives and methodologies involved in crop breeding, including the scale of the challenge facing land based crop production in the 21st century and the role of emerging technologies to meet these needs sustainably.
It will achieve this by considering, for example, the following areas:
• The role of Industrial crops in the context of sustainable land-based crop production
• Crop performance traits, crop genetics and genomics
• Existing feedstock improvement technologies: high throughput phenotyping, genetic engineering, molecular breeding and association genetics
• New and emerging technologies in crop biotechnology
• The role of bioinformatics and modeling in crop improvement
• Societal benefits and perceptions of biotechnology
Brief description
The module will include an overall introduction to industrial crop breeding and feedstock improvement. It will consist of a series of lectures detailing the objectives and methodologies involved in crop breeding, the scale of the challenge facing land based crop production in the 21st century and the role of emerging technologies to meet these needs sustainably. The course will be taught via a series of lectures, computer-based data analysis, and tours of facilities and field sites. Assessment will be via an essay, a presentation, and a formal examination.
Module Skills
Skills Type | Skills details |
---|---|
Application of Number | Problem solving, data analysis, modeling |
Communication | Oral presentation and group work |
Improving own Learning and Performance | Targeted self-learning |
Information Technology | Use of computational resources, data analysis practical, modeling |
Personal Development and Career planning | Development of Personal Skills – presentation, team work |
Problem solving | Computer based practical – formal feedback provided |
Research skills | Research for the essay and presentation assessments |
Subject Specific Skills | Application of the principles underlying the use of crops for bioenergy & biorefining. |
Team work | Group work – formal feedback provided |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7