Development of Curriculum and Professional Competency in Biotechnology

Abstract

The objectives of this research study were to develop a curriculum in biotechnology and to investigate general ideas on teaching methods as well as the development of professional competency in biotechnology. A questionnaire and interview were used to collect data on the current situation and graduate-demand tendency in the labor market, opinions on teaching activities, professional competencies essential to biotechnological work and desirable characteristics of graduates from an employer’s perspective. In addition, focus groups were set up to collect information from lecturers, researchers, experts and employers in biotechnology and related fields. The results showed that biotechnology graduate demand was 90%. Professional competencies essential for a biotechnology curriculum were knowledge in industrial quality assurance, microbiology, analytical chemistry, workplace safety and industrial biotechnology. The essential skills were skills in work planning, communication and presentation, foreign language proficiency and professional practices in microbiological and biotechnological instrumentation and Information and Communication T echnology application. The essential characteristic requires were hard working, patience, responsibility, teamwork, honesty, creative thinking and leadership. The results from the focus groups on curriculum suggest that teaching activities and essential professional competencies are the essential basic subjects. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, microbial taxonomy, biochemistry, bacterial and plant physiology, biotechnology instrumentation, statistics and experiment planning.