Transdisciplinary biotechnology - a Digital Life Norway course

The aim is to obtain a true transdisciplinary course where PhD students from different backgrounds (biotechnology/life sciences and bioinformatics/mathematics/computer science) work together in the context of modelling and/or data analysis, and also learn about data collection in biotechnology/life sciences. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) will be an integrated part of the course. The course will have three teaching blocks:

1. A start-up plenary (1-4 October 2024 at NTNU) where participants will be introduced to the different scientific projects they will be part of during the course. The start-up plenary will also cover the essentials on transdisciplinary research, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), remote collaboration, and research data sharing.

2. Group work on projects: The group projects (5-7 days) offered in the course will be based on scientific data made available by the group leader and/or his/her research group. Each project will consist of one or more tasks linked to modelling and/or analysis of the data. The project will also act as an experiment for participants to engage in transdisciplinary collaboration. As groups will be distributed across different Norwegian Universities (NTNU, UiB, UiT, UiO) participants might be required to travel.

3. The final plenary session (3-4 December 2024, location TBD) where teams will present the results from their projects, as well as lessons learnt from transdisciplinary collaboration.

IMPORTANT: More information on the course, specific projects, and registration will be updated on the website of Digital Life Norway Research School.

• How to work in a transdisciplinary setting with other scientists to solve a complex scientific challenge.
• The general principles for data collection in biotechnology/life sciences and modelling and/or analysis of the data with advanced methods.
• Learn tools for collection, sharing, and analysis of the specific types of life science data in projects. This includes specific types of methods and soft-ware for modelling and analysis of the data.
• Create an awareness for RRI and how to apply it in your own research

Group work and plenary sessions. Group work may take place both physically (might require travelling to another city) and via Zoom/Skype/Teams or other communication channels. All costs related to travelling will be covered by Digital Life Norway Research School (for members of the research school).