P014
Laboratory-based group projects for final year undergraduates
Matthew D Baker, Timothy P Higgins, Andrew M Shore,
Glen E Sweeney and Louise J Woodgate
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
The final year project, a feature of most if not all undergraduate
Bioscience degrees, is often considered by staff and students
alike as the high point of the course. In common with most
other Universities, the Cardiff University School of Biosciences
offers a variety of project types including literature reviews, data
analysis and scientific engagement. However, the most popular
(and resource intensive) projects are practical based, involving
laboratory or field work. As at other institutions, providing
sufficient high-quality practical projects to meet the demand
imposed by a steadily rising student population is proving to be
a significant challenge. In particular, it is difficult to design and
effectively supervise large numbers of completely distinct projects
that are undertaken by individual students. Here we describe
our experiences with group projects in which several students
undertake related projects that provide both individual data and
a larger group dataset. We believe these are as rewarding as
individual projects whilst creating a community of science which
enriches teamworking and provides in a collaborative setting,
experience in experimental design, laboratory techniques, and
data analysis. Examples of these projects include the analysis
of alternatively spliced genes during developmental transitions,
investigation of the methylation status of genes in mammalian
tissues and the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms and
their role in outcomes of high intensity interval training.