Course Overview

The general objective of this course is to:

- learn the fundamental principles of scientific research
- acquire skills in writing and communicating about a research
project in Neuroscience.

Upon completion of this course, students are able to carry out a
literature survey in Neuroscience and may also elaborate and defend a
scientific project in this field. Students follow specific training in
order to:

- develop and write a neuroscience project according to the key
principles of scientific research
- summarize and defend orally a research project in 10 minutes, with
a focus on the project specifically related to their Master thesis
- master the key principles of the translational approach

Learning Achievement

Competence

Course prerequisites

- Students should have completed the first year of a Master program.
- An interest in Neuroscience research in general and in epistemology
in particular is recommended.  - Language prerequisite: fluency in
English

Grading Philosophy

Grading is based on a final oral examination (0.8) at the end of the
term (mid-December) during which students must defend a Neuroscience
project (10min powerpoint presentation with 10 minutes of questions).
The written project (10 pages, excluding the abstract), which is also
assessed, must be sent one week before this oral examination. 

In addition, an ongoing exam (as part of a group, an oral presentation
of a mini-project on the basis of a mini-review analysis) contributes
to the overall assessment (0.2).

Course schedule

LECTURES (30H):

1. Epistemological approach of scientific research: fundamental
principles (12h)

- Breaking (with common sense): how to deduce a working hypothesis
from a line of arguments
- Construction: from the working hypothesis to experimental design
- Observation and interpretation: from the experiment to data
analysis / expected results and their meaning

2. Conception of a mini-project on the basis of a
mini-review analysis (group work lasting 10h).

3. Translational research (4h): from human to animal studies and vice
et versa.

4. Communicating about a research project in Neuroscience (4h)

- How to summarize a research project in 10 min
- How to formulate a "take home message"

TUTORIALS (60H):

1. Oral presentation of a mini-project (group work)

2. Tutoring: expert guidance from teaching staff concerning the
completion and oral presentation of the Master project (focus on the
deduction of a scientific question). Special tutoring is provided for
Neurasmus students, as well as for students planning their internship
within the industrial sector.

Course type

Specific lectures are dedicated to different theoretical aspects of the scientific methodology. Tutorials provide individual supervision for the development and presentation of the Master project.

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Other information

Duration: 3 months

Language of instruction: English
Mode of delivery: Face-to-face teaching

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