Aims

General aim : This course is meant to stimulate an interdisciplinary work between students having different backgrounds. The aim is to address a complex question comprising different aspects (biological, environmental, economic, ethic, …) through an integrated approach of the problem. Specific objectives : improve the ability to work as part of a team, perform a bibliographical search, integrate data of various nature, prepare a written report and make an efficient oral presentation.

Main themes

The students are invited to build up small groups of 3 to 4 persons having different backgrounds, in order to solve a complex agronomical problem that should be tackled in different ways. The groups have to select the most pertinent aspects that should be covered. The work mainly consists in a bibliographical search and in investigations and surveys when appropriate. Il has to lead to a written report and an oral presentation.

Content and teaching methods

The course is spread over a four-month period. During a first meeting, the students and teachers select the topical questions to be addressed (GMOs, functional foods, food safety issues, sustainable production of agricultural commodities, …) and build up multi-disciplinary groups. Each group is associated to one or several senior scientists or teachers having a good knowledge of the selected topic. Each group governs its work in an independent way. After 2, 5 and 8 weeks, the current status of the work is presented to the senior partners who must evaluate the progress done and make the necessary recommendations to keep the work on the track and avoid important gaps. At the end of the four-month period, the studies are presented both orally and in the form of a written report (maximum 20 pages) to the teaching staff and the other students.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Pre-requisite : knowledge and skills acquired during the whole master programme for bio-engineers in agronomic sciences.
Evaluation : three aspects are taken into account to assess the quality of the work performed by the students : progress during the four-month period, quality of the oral presentation and quality of the written report. The first aspect is evaluated by the senior scientists or teachers associated to each group, the other aspects are evaluated by the teachers in charge of the course.
Documents : databases available at UCL, documents and reports from private companies, professional associations, public bodies, …
Encadrement (?) : teaching group made of senior scientists and professors linked to the BAPA department

Other credits in programs