Admission requirements
This course is open to all students that have been admitted to the minor ‘Quantitative Biology’.
Description
This course is a weekly seminar in which the students are introduced to the research practice of Quantitative Biology. There are guest lectures by invited speakers who have integrated this approach into their research. They will discuss the way in which their research practice benefitted from the integrated Quantitative Biology approach, in particular how it has accelerated their research or broadened the insights gained. Both the mathematical and experimental perspective will be addressed. Students will study selected cases from the literature themselves and present and discuss their findings in plenary sessions in the seminar. At the end of the seminar the students write a short essay in which they briefly describe, evaluate and discuss each of the cases presented by the invited speakers.
Course objectives
The students gain insight and appreciation for the integrated approach of Quantitative Biology, and its limitations, in general. They will be inspired how a Quantitative Biology approach can be beneficial to their own research interests and approach. By studying and discussing the cases the students increase their biological and mathematical knowledge and communication skills in an interdisciplinary setting.
Final qualifications:
Obtained overview of cases in which a Quantitative Biology approach has been applied.
Increased knowledge in biology and dynamic mathematical modeling, by example.
Increased scientific communication and discussion skills in interdisciplinary setting.
Basic skills acquired in reading, evaluating, presenting and discussing papers with mixed mathematical-biological content.
Timetable
The time table is provisional and provided times are indicative. A detailed final schedule will become available before the start of the minor. It is foreseen that the course runs from week 3 until week 12 of the semester, except for week 5 and 10, when exams are planned for other courses in the minor.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Seminar with lecture by invited speaker, presentation(s) by students and discussion. Students need to read selected papers.
Assessment method
The final grade is a 'Pass' or 'Fail', based upon the student's (obligatory) participation in the lectures, presentations and discussions that consistute the course. Please contact the lecturer well in advance when you cannot attend a meeting. A retake is oral, over a selection of research papers
Reading list
A selection of papers will be provided for reading by participants. Invited speakers may provide additional literature.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Exchange and Study Abroad students: please see the Prospective students website for information on the application procedure.
Contact
Course coordinator: Prof. Dr. B. van Duijn
Email: a.van.duijn@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Brightspace will be used for communication and provision of course material.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.