SL32072: Grand challenge
[Page last updated: 15 May 2025]
| Academic Year: | 2025/26 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Life Sciences |
| Credits: | 5 [equivalent to 10 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 100 |
| Level: | Honours (FHEQ level 6) |
| Period: |
- Semester 1
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| Assessment Summary: | CWOG 65%, CWRI 35% |
| Assessment Detail: |
- Strategy pitch (CWOG 65% - Qualifying Mark: 40)
- coursework (CWRI 35%)
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
- Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
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| Requisites: |
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| Learning Outcomes: |
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- Work effectively as part of a group to negotiate division of workload.
- Search for information from a variety of sources.
- Devise a strategic approach to address key needs or deficiencies relating to the challenge informed by analysis and interpretation of the data sourced.
- Critically evaluate and organise information pertaining to the particular challenge.
- Communicate information and proposed solutions effectively, using multiple formats.
- Defend proposals through Q&A with peers (including earlier year groups).
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| Synopsis: | You will develop skills in group working to address a current biotechnological, health or environmental issue of far-reaching significance, utilising systems-level approaches.
By conducting search strategies to collect information from multiple sources, you will examine a variety of relevant data and literature, enabling you to produce a reasoned strategy proposal.
You will develop your communication and group working skills to disseminate and defend the proposed strategy.
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| Content: | Students will be assigned to a Biotechnological, Health or Environmental challenge cohort. The allocation will take account of student preferences and be irrespective of degree course.
Within each cohort there can be multiple specific topics; selected topics will be further refined by students. Topics might include:
- Biotechnological Challenge: e.g. bioengineering to recycle waste; 3D organoids for tissue engineering; biosensors; drug discovery;
- Health Challenge: e.g. pharmaceutical innovation; anti-biotic resistance; finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease; preventing viral epidemics;
- Environmental challenge: e.g. climate change; microbial evolution; flooding; captive breeding programmes; viral transmission and mutation.
Students will work in small groups; each student may individually cover a particular aspect of a broader challenge.
Students will produce a relevant strategic plan to address their challenge.
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| Course availability: |
SL32072 is Optional on the following courses:
Department of Life Sciences
- USSL-AFB10 : BSc(Hons) Biochemistry (Year 3)
- USSL-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Biochemistry with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSL-AFB11 : BSc(Hons) Biology (Year 3)
- USSL-AKB02 : BSc(Hons) Biology with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSL-AFB12 : BSc(Hons) Biomedical Sciences (Year 3)
- USSL-AKB03 : BSc(Hons) Biomedical Sciences with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSL-AFM10 : MBiochem(Hons) Biochemistry (Year 3)
- USSL-AKM01 : MBiochem(Hons) Biochemistry with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSL-AFM11 : MBiol(Hons) Biology (Year 3)
- USSL-AKM02 : MBiol(Hons) Biology with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSL-AFM12 : MBiomed(Hons) Biomedical Sciences (Year 3)
- USSL-AKM03 : MBioMed(Hons) Biomedical Sciences with Professional Placement (Year 4)
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Notes: - This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2025/26 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2026/27 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2025/26.
- 好色tv and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
- Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
- Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.
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