More information
Description
The project “An innovative platform for Estonia-Norway research-based teaching in bioinformatics and gene editing” will develop tools for teaching two cutting-edge technologies needed in almost all fields of Life Sciences. The project will be coordinated by TalTech and will have as partner NMBU. Group leaders are plant scientist experts in one of these technologies with teaching experience at universities. During the project, material for lectures and practical work in the laboratories will be developed. These tools will be tested in two 10 days long intensive courses for MSc and PhD students. During the courses, students will benefit from interaction with another culture in a different educational atmosphere. The tools developed will be presented at the end of the project in a seminar in TalTech with PhD students presenting their work. A special emphasis will be given to gene editing technologies, including science policy, since this topic is of interest to different stakeholders.
Summary of project results
The aim of project “An innovative platform for Estonia-Norway research-based teaching in bioinformatics and gene editing” was to develop tools for teaching two cutting-edge technologies needed in almost all fields of Life Sciences. The project was coordinated by Tallinn University of Tehcnology (TalTech) and had as partner Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Group leaders were plant scientist experts in one of these technologies with teaching experience at universities. During the project, material for lectures and practical work in the laboratories was developed and these tools were tested during intensive courses for MSc and PhD students.
During the project, material for lectures, for practical work in the laboratories, for discussions in groups and also homeworks were developed. The obtained tools were tested in two 10-day long intensive courses, were altogether 31 MSc and PhD students from both universities participated. During the courses, students benefited not only from the knowledge itself, but also from the interaction with another culture, experiencing a different educational atmosphere. The material created by the TalTech’s team was translated into Estonian. Therefore, in a near future the course can be offered to MSc and PhD students, locals and coming from abroad. In NMBU all teaching at master’s and doctoral levels is carried out in English and no translation was needed. The teams from both countries met regularly, online or onsite, to prepare the courses, to refine the material according to the students’ feedback obtained after the intensive courses. The regular contact for two years has strengthened the collaboration between both teams, at the scientific and pedagogical levels. The project ended with a multiplier event, were the project and its outcomes were presented. Doctoral students shared their experiences about the courses, pointing out the level of knowledge acquired as well as the benefit form interacting with other cultures and traveling to see how students’ life looks elsewhere. The final event had a special emphasis on gene editing technologies and the science policy related to it. Since this topic is of interest to different stakeholders, there were participants not only from the academia but also from the private and public sectors.
The impacted most the students participating at the intensive courses (MSc and PhD students), since they are already applying the bioinformatics techniques learnt to different fields of science (plant molecular biology, animal and human physiology, reproductive biology) on one hand and many got interested in CRISPR/Cas technologies, especially the last techniques that were new to them. The impact is already clear at doctoral research projects level and this is a direct impact for the universities and for society in a broader sense.
In addition, this project gave to the students and to the staff involved an opportunity to explore the different cultures and education systems thanks to the trips to Tallinn and Ås. Not only the collaborating teams have strengthened their relationships, but also some students got new friends. In addition, lecturers from TalTech and NMBU have learnt from each other pedagogical skills that is also a positive gain for the universities.
Thanks to the invitation and/or participation in the multiplier event, some stakeholders got to know the skills our staff has and teaches to our students, who could work in the future at different companies or public institutions where those knowledges or skills are needed.
Summary of bilateral results
The donor partner’s contribution was from the scientific (professional) point of view very important, since the expertise in RNA sequencing explained from basics till the most updated level is missing at both universities. The cooperation between the partners will continue and new applications for a cooperation are looked for example for another joint pedagogical project, but mainly for research projects including other universities (HE, NordForsk).