Learning objectives

The Biotechnology graduate from the University of Parma must:
- possess adequate basic knowledge of biological systems, interpreted from a molecular and cellular perspective;

- possess the cultural and experimental bases of the multidisciplinary techniques that characterise biotechnological operations for the production of goods and services through the analysis and use of biological systems;

- acquire the disciplinary methods and be able to apply them in concrete situations with appropriate knowledge of regulations and deontological and bioethical issues

- be able to use effectively, in written and oral form, at least one language of the European Union, in addition to Italian, in the specific field of competence and for the exchange of general information;

- possess adequate skills and tools for communication and information management; to be able to draw up technical-scientific reports;

- be able to work in a team, to operate autonomously and to fit readily into the work environment.
Graduates of the class can carry out professional activities in various biotechnological fields, such as industrial, agricultural, environmental, pharmaceutical, health care, as well as in the field of scientific communication, and therefore the degree course includes educational activities that enable
- to acquire the essential knowledge on the structure and function of biological systems, researching their molecular, informational and integrative logic;

- to acquire the conceptual and technical-practical tools for an experimental operation aimed at analysing and using, also by modifying them, cells or their components in order to obtain goods and services;

- to base the previous activities on sufficient basic knowledge of mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics and chemistry;

- to integrate the scientific-technical preparation with legal aspects of regulation, responsibility and bioethics, economics and business management, communication and public perception.
The student's programme of study integrated with free-choice courses makes it possible to pursue some of the indicated objectives to a greater extent than others, or to particularly deepen certain fields of application, such as agricultural, industrial, pharmaceutical, medical and veterinary; to this end, the degree courses' didactic regulations suitably select the academic disciplines from among those indicated; they envisage in any case, among the training activities in the various disciplinary sectors, laboratory activities; they envisage, in relation to specific objectives, the obligation of external activities, such as training periods in companies or laboratories and stays at other Italian and European universities, also within the framework of international agreements. The time reserved for personal study or other individual training activities is at least 60 per cent of the total time commitment, with the possibility of lower percentages for individual training activities with a high experimental or practical content.