KJTS3900 Bachelor Thesis Course description

Students shall apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in over the course of the degree programme to a realistic engineering problem. They shall demonstrate the ability to further develop their knowledge and skills in theoretical and/or practical problem-solving. Students shall demonstrate a responsible and ethical approach to their professional expertise. The course builds on the first and second years of the study programme.

The following coursework is compulsory and must be approved before the student can sit the exam:

• 6-day compulsory laboratory course with;2 written assignments (groups of 2-4 students, 10-20 pages per assignment)
• 1-day compulsory workshop in bioanalytical metods (4 h laboratory work, groups of 10-15 students, no written assignments).
• Some exercise sessions related to the laboratory course will be compulsory. These sessions will be announced separately
• Before a laboratory exercise starts, a tutorial must be completed;where;the students groups submit a written plan on;how to carry out;the exercise.
• A written collaboration assignment in the form of a case study (groups of 2-4 students). Oral presentation of the solution to the case assignment (6-8 hours).

Students must be registered in the third year and have completed at least 100 credits from the first and second years by the 1st of October before they are assigned a topic for their bachelor's thesis.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• is capable of using and processing knowledge of science and technology to solve biotechnology and chemistry-related problems
• is capable of proposing alternative technical solutions, and analysing and quality assuring the results.

Skills

The student:

• is capable of translating knowledge into practical solutions
• masters modern analytical and biotechnology methods and has knowledge of safe laboratory work
• is capable of quality assuring and analysing results obtained in a project
• is capable of documenting and discussing results, both orally and in writing
• is capable of obtaining literature and other background information of relevance to the project, and writing reports based on standardised methods.

General competence

The student:

• is capable of carrying out an engineering assignment based on a practical industrial or research-related issue in an independent and systematic manner
• masters both independent work and team work, including planning and implementation of engineering projects
• has the ability to place their own work in a wider engineering context.

The bachelor's thesis is an independent project assignment carried out in groups of students. The content of the thesis shall be relevant to the programme. The bachelor's thesis shall be method-oriented and problem-oriented, and shall be organised in a manner that allows students to use knowledge and skills from several fields.

The thesis shall preferably be written in cooperation with an enterprise, industry organisation or public institution.

The following coursework is compulsory and must be approved before the student can sit the exam:

• course in literature searches and source criticism
• approved progress schedule
• two oral presentations.

The students shall acquire in-depth knowledge of important instrumental analysis methods, sampling and sample preparation in analytical chemistry. The students shall also receive training in principles for method development and method validation, quality control and quality assurance in a chemical laboratory.

Approved laboratory course in KJTS2100 Chemical Engineering, KJM2300 Analytical Chemistry I and KJM2400 Biochemistry and Microbiology, or corresponding qualifications.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student is capable of explaining:

• theoretical and practical principles for the use of chromatographic techniques, with the emphasis on gas chromatography and liquid chromatography
• theoretical and practical principles for capillary electrophoresis
• the theory and functioning of mass spectrometry, basic interpretation of mass spectra
• general sampling principles and practical techniques for sampling gas, liquid and solids
• important sample preparation techniques for chromatographic analysis, including extraction, preparative chromatography and concentration techniques
• principles for method development, optimisation and method validation for chromatography
• principles for quality control and quality assurance in a chemical laboratory
• the importance of planning and preparing laboratory work.

Skills

The student is capable of:

• performing quantitative analyses in accordance with standardized operating procedures
• calibrating and adjusting common measurement instruments
• choosing the appropriate laboratory equipment and using it correctly
• making their own assessment in the choice of sample preparation and analysis techniques
• preparing calibration standards and generating calibration curves that meet the necessary quality requirements
• reading scientific articles and searching in journal databases to find relevant literature in connection with method development and implementation
• using statistical methods to interpret and quality check measurement results
• determining the identity of unknown analytes based on chromatographic and mass spectrometry analyses

General competence

The student:

• has insight into the application and limitations of common chromatographic, capillary electrophoretic and mass spectrometry analysis techniques
• has insight into requirements for good laboratory practice
• has knowledge of the principles for developing new analysis methods, including sampling, sample preparation, qualitative and quantitative analysis
• has knowledge of how accuracy and precision in measurement results are affected by sources of error and uncertainty in instrumentation, procedures and work techniques
• has a background for understanding developments and future perspectives in the field
• is capable of communicating their own results orally and in writing

The teaching is organised as lectures, exercises and laboratory instruction.