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Projects in Bioinformatics

A "Project in Bioinformatics" (PiB) is a 5 or 10 ECTS project related to the research at BiRC. The project work is carried out in consultation with a project supervisor at BiRC, and is documented in a written report and at an oral exam. If you are interested in doing a PiB, you should start by contacting a potential supervisor at BiRC.

Slides from PiB info meeting (May 2023)

Ten simple rules for making a PiB (May 2023)

Signing up for a project

You sign up for a PiB in the same manner as you sign up for a regular class, i.e. during the first week of November, if you are doing a project in the Spring, or during the first week of May, if you are doing a project in the Fall. When you sign up, you can choose between different versions of PiB. This reflects whether the PiB that you are signing up for is the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd PiB in your Study program.

Working in a group: You can do a PiB in a group of up to three students. Each group member must sign up for the PiB individually cf. above and each group member must make an individual contract cf. below (note in the contract that you are working in a group, and list your group members). The group hands in a single combined report and each group member has an individual oral exam cf. below.

Choosing a topic

Before you can make a project contract, and commence your project work, you must (of course) chose a topic and a supervisor. The supervisor must be a tenured researcher associated to BiRC, but you can also have one or more co-supervisors. When choosing a project topic, it is a good idea to think about the classes and projects that you have done during your Master’s studies, and what kind of work do you like? Contact potential supervisors as early as possible to discuss your wishes and ideas. Remember that you are always welcome to come by our offices and discuss. You can also ask potential supervisors for examples of thesis’s that they have supervised in order to get a better idea of how a thesis can look.

Project ideas (updated Apr 2023)

Project contract

After you have signed up for a PiB, you must make a project contract in coordination with your supervisor. As part of the project contract, you must attach a pdf-document describing the problem statement, activity plan, and supervision plan for you project. Please use this template:

Problem statement, activity plan, and supervision plan (template in docx format)

The project contract, including attachment, must be submitted via

https://kontrakt.nattech.au.dk

before September 1, if the project is done in the Fall semester, and February 1, if the project is done in the Spring semester. Note that you in the project contract must agree on a submission date in the exam period immediately following the project work. The submission must be chosen such that it is possible to do the exam in the same exam period. Typical submission dates are January 15, if the project is done in the Fall semester, and June 15, if the project is done in the Spring semester.

Project work

When a project contract has been submitted, and approved, it is your responsibility, under supervision, to do the described project, and hand in the report (10-15 pages, if a 5 ECTS project, and 20-25 pages, if a 10 ECTS project) via Digital Exam no later than the agreed submission date. If you are working in a group, the volume of the work and report must reflect this.

Exam

The exam is a 15 min presentation of the project, followed by a 15 min discussion of the presentation and the report. Besides the supervisor, an internal co-examiner (another BiRC researcher) must be present at the exam. The final grade is based on an overall assessment of the written report, the presentation, and the following the discussion, where the assessment of written report contributes the most. If you are working in a group, all group members have individual exams.

Supervisor responsibility

It is the responsibility of the supervisor to conduct the exam during the exam period immediately following the project period, and plan accordingly with the student(s) and internal examiner. The supervisor must submit name of the internal examiner to Christian Storm Pedersen (cstorm@birc.au.dk) before December 1, if the project is done in the Fall semester, and May 1, if the project is done in the Spring semester. The supervisor and internal examiner get the project report via Digital Exam, and must submit the final grade via Digital Exam. 

Period

It is possible to do a PiB (5 ECTS or 10 ECTS) every semester.

Teachers

Christian N. S. Pedersen (coordinator).

The actual project is done under the supervision of BiRC researcher.

Course description

Read the official course description at the university course catalogue