Educational goals

The Master's Degree Course in Advanced Biotechnology is aimed at training graduate specialists in possession of highly qualified skills, both scientific and professional, with a strong interdisciplinary connotation, in the various areas of interest of industrial biotechnology. Graduates in this course of study are professionals of biological and chemical culture with a high mastery of the techniques of study, purification and manipulation of biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) and an in-depth knowledge of their structure, properties and applications. They also possess adequate knowledge of the different fields of application of biotechnology and the ability to play positions of responsibility in the research and development of biotechnological processes and in the design and management of industrial biotechnological systems. Graduates in Advanced Biotechnology also acquire all the knowledge necessary to successfully pursue higher education courses, such as second-level Masters. To achieve these results, the course of study aims to provide a solid theoretical scientific preparation, accompanied by practical experience in teaching laboratories, research laboratories and in various business contexts. The educational offer of the degree course in Advanced Biotechnology makes use of the contribution of professors belonging to various departments of the University (Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences) and adjunct professors from various biotechnological companies. The course of study does not include separate curricula, but the structure of the educational offer guarantees students the acquisition of basic scientific skills from compulsory courses, to be declined towards specific applications thanks to the possibility of selecting a significant number of elective courses. The training course is divided into four semesters. In the first two semesters, compulsory courses are taught aimed at enhancing chemical, biochemical, genetic and microbiological skills, which are the basis of all advanced applications of biotechnology. In addition, during the first two semesters, students can choose two elective courses focused on specific biotechnology applications. The third semester is characterized by two compulsory courses, taught by university professors and adjunct professors from industry, which allow the completion of training in the field of genetics and microbiology for advanced applications of biotechnology in the industrial field. In the same semester, an additional elective course can be selected to refine one's skills in different application areas of biotechnology. The third and fourth semesters are characterized by extensive work for the preparation of the experimental thesis in university laboratories or in biotechnology companies, which will complete the figure of the graduate in Advanced Biotechnology. The educational offer is structured in the following learning areas: a) Biological Area. It represents the core of the course of study and includes advanced courses in the biological field, which deal in depth with topics of genomics, microbiology, biochemistry, genetic engineering, toxicology. b) Chemical Area. It provides the chemical skills essential in today's biotechnological world and is characterized by compulsory courses and elective courses, which address topics of chemistry of macromolecules, biocompatible materials and natural substances, but also analytical and methodological aspects. C) Biotechnology and Application Area. It represents the most articulated learning area and is characterized by courses with a clear applicative and industrial declination, but also teachings focused on the use of biotechnology in specific areas (e.g. food, cellular, vegetable, insect biotechnology). The different learning areas contribute to the achievement of the following specific objectives: 1) To develop in graduates the ability to carry out basic and applied study and research activities on biological systems, refining the knowledge of cellular and molecular structures. The courses characterizing all the learning areas contribute to this objective, but the training deriving from the courses in the biological and chemical areas is fundamental. 2) Provide all the necessary skills for the management of specific biotechnological platforms. In particular, in the processes of genetic engineering and production of recombinant proteins, but also of synthetic organic substances and products of microbial fermentation. The achievement of this objective requires skills deriving from all the learning areas indicated, but with particular reference to the teachings of the learning area C. 3) Understand how to optimize and validate the efficacy and biocompatibility of biotechnological products, thanks to purification and analysis techniques of biomolecules, acquired in chemistry courses and in the technical/practical activities carried out in different courses. 4) Learn to know and predict the effects of biotechnological products on the environment, thanks to the skills built with the courses of the learning areas A) and C), focused on topics of toxicology, cell biology, plant biology and insect biology. 5) Develop computational skills thanks to specific courses, which deal specifically with bioinformatics topics, but also with biochemistry and genomics courses, which provide important information on database management. 6) To know the fundamental aspects of the operational processes that follow the industrial design of biotechnological products and the formulation of biopharmaceuticals. These skills are acquired in the context of learning area C) in particular with courses related to industrial activities. 7) To provide the means to learn to work autonomously in different biotechnological contexts, assuming roles of responsibility and organization, as well as developing the ability to communicate the results obtained efficiently and also using foreign languages.

Career opportunities

Biotechnologist The professional fields in which the graduate in Advanced Biotechnology will be able to work are those related to: - fundamental and applied research activities in the chemical and biological fields, in public or private laboratories; - dissemination and development of scientific and technological innovation in the biological and chemical fields in the most dynamic and critical sectors of society, as well as management and design of molecular technologies with reference also to their application effects; - didactic-dissemination activities aimed at disseminating knowledge on biological phenomena and their potential biotechnological applications at all levels; - management activities related to the drafting and economic management of national and international projects in the biotechnology field; - teaching activities in the school, once the teaching qualification process has been completed and the competitions required by current legislation have been passed.

Admission requirements

In order to be admitted to the Master's Degree Programme, students must have a degree (including the one obtained according to the regulations in force prior to Ministerial Decree 509/1999 and subsequent amendments and additions) or a three-year university diploma, or another qualification obtained abroad, recognised as suitable by the competent offices of the University. Admission is also required to meet curricular requirements and the student's initial preparation. The curricular requirements are the degree obtained in classes 1 (class of degrees in Biotechnology) and 12 (class of degrees in Biological Sciences) according to the regulations of Ministerial Decree 509/1999 and in classes L-2 (class of degrees in Biotechnology) and L-13 (classes of degrees in Biological Sciences) according to the regulations of Ministerial Decree 270/2004. Candidates who have obtained a degree in classes other than those indicated above, whose educational path has in any case allowed the acquisition of a certain number of credits referring to specific disciplines indicated in the Didactic Regulations, are also admitted. The latter also defines the procedures for verifying the adequacy of the student's initial preparation.