Presentation of the Bio-MV Department's training offer

A vast disciplinary field

The Life Sciences (SV) bachelor's degree is offered by the two Biology teaching departments of the Faculty of Science at the University of Geneva.The University of Montpellier: the Biology-Ecology (BE) department and the Biology-Living Mechanisms (Bio-MV) department. The Biology-Mechanisms of Life (Bio-MV) teaching department trains students in various fields of biology: from the molecular and structural bases to the functioning of animal and plant life, from the cellular level to the level of the whole organism in relation to its environment, from micro-organisms to the study of their interactions with their hosts.

The main disciplines covered by the Bio-MV department's Life Sciences bachelor's degree are: cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, animal and plant physiology, immunology and neuroscience.

Teaching is also centered on the acquisition of a scientific approach, with particular attention paid to tutorials and practical work, and to the use of manipulatives and experimentation.

The major disciplines are complemented by cross-disciplines such as chemistry, physics and statistics, which are essential for training biologists. These subjects are taught in Licence 1 (L1) and Licence 2 (L2) in close connection with biological issues.

Semester 1 of the first year of the bachelor's degree (S1-L1)is a joint semester with the Biology-Ecology (BE) pathway of the Biology-Ecology (BE) teaching department. It is only from semester 2 of L1 onwards that part of the teaching units (TU) is oriented towards the biology disciplines of the Bio-MV department or the ecology disciplines of the BE department. The courses offered by the Bio-MV department do not begin until the second year (L2), when you will be offered specific teaching units to begin your "specialization" in the biology field of your choice.
The SV license courses offered by the Bio-MV department are as follows: Animal Physiology and Neuroscience (PAN), Microbiology (MIC), Biotechnologies - Biotraçabilité - Bioressources (BBB), Biochemistry (BIOCH), Molecular and Cellular Biology (BMC), Plant Biology for the Agro-Environment (BiPAgro), BIOtechnologie-Métiers de l'Enseignement (BIO-ME), and Préparation au Concours Agro-Veto (PCAV). All courses, with the exception of PCAV and Bio-ME, which are selective, are accessible (within the limits of each course's specific intake capacity) from L2 after validation of L1 Life Science.

Initial training (Licence 1 and semester 1 of Licence 2) is therefore a general course, with the primary aim of enabling students to continue their studies with a specialized L3 in one of the courses offered by our training program, followed by a Master's degree in Biology-Health, Biology-Agrosciences or MEEF (Métiers de l'Enseignement, de l'Education et de la Formation).

Students taking the Life Sciences degree in the Bio-MV department must acquire the following skills:

1. disciplinary skills

- Acquire a basic understanding of biology (cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, animal and plant physiology, neurosciences, immunology, etc.), enabling students to grasp the complexity of the issues facing our society (cloning and GMOs, genetic fingerprinting, pandemics, gene and cell therapy, biodiversity, pollution and treatment, etc.). More specifically, it will involve, among other things, :
- Understanding the organization of cells (from the molecule to the prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell), and of living organisms (from the cell to the organism)
- Understanding how the entire organism functions, and the associated regulations
- Understanding the different molecules of life, their structures and roles
- Know the role and function of cellular organelles
- Know the mechanisms of cell division and their regulation
- Know the interactions between pathogenic organisms and their hosts

2.Cross-disciplinary skills

Knowledge

- Know how knowledge is formed in different disciplines (hypotheses, experimental results, interpretation of experimental results, debatable results).
Savoir-Faire
- Master the scientific approach, the ability to collect, analyze, exploit and interpret data.
- Knowing how to mobilize concepts and tools from different disciplines to analyze a document, an observation or the result of an experiment;
- Mastering the valorization of results and scientific communication, written and oral.
- Being able to develop a logical argument with a critical mind (limits, confrontation with bibliography, defense of a point of view thanks to a constructed and logical argument, etc.);

Savoir-Etre

- Know how to work independently or in teams, adapt to a new context and take relevant initiatives;
- Be capable of self-evaluation and questioning oneself in order to learn;
- Respect the legal, ethical and deontological rules for the use and production of documents (plagiarism, source, copyright and quotations, falsification of data);
- Respect the legal, ethical and deontological rules governing the handling of living organisms (animal breeding and experimentation);
- Respect others, equipment and organisms on which you work.

Two main areas of research: Biology-Health & Biology-Agrosciences

The Biology - Mechanisms of Life department offers both pathways providing solid fundamental training in the student's chosen field of specialization, and pathways designed to apply biology to all areas of Life Sciences applications: Human Health, Plant Sciences, Microorganism-Host Interactions, Agrosciences, Food, Biodetection and Biotraceability, Biotechnologies, Bioprocesses and Biological Engineering, etc.

This desire to cover all areas of biology, in all living beings, for outlets ranging from fundamental research to commercialization, is reflected in the variety of courses offered by our department in the Life Sciences B.Sc. and in the Biology-Health and Biology-Agrosciences Masters.

Specialized teaching teams in the various fields of biology, including teacher-researchers who are heavily involved in research, ensure high-quality student support and provide pertinent advice on their orientation in this vast disciplinary field.
The Biology - Life Mechanisms Department is supported by the Biology-Health and Biology-Agrosciences Scientific Departments, which are particularly well-developed areas of research in Montpellier, and by interactions with the Chemistry, Mathematics, Informatics, Physics and Systems Scientific Departments (MIPS), and Biology-Ecology-Evolution-Environment-Earth and Water Sciences (B3ESTE). The courses are taught in conjunction with the numerous Biology-Health and Biology-Agrosciences research laboratories.