INFORMATION ON THE MASTER
APPLICATION
FORM
International Master on
ANIMAL BREEDING AND REPRODUCTION
BIOTECHNOLOGY (1st edition)
Valencia and
Barcelona (Spain), 1 October 2007 – 6 June 2008
October 2008 –
July 2009
Objectives
Organization
Degrees awarded
Academic organization
Admission
Registration
Scholarships
Structure and content of the first
part of the Master
Lecturers participating in the first part of the Master
Genetic improvement is a main factor contributing to profitability,
sustainability and welfare in animal production. It is a complex discipline
bringing together relatively disparate subjects. On one hand, population and quantitative genetics, that to date have
been responsible for the main advances in the breeds and populations of the
animals used in production. On the other hand molecular genetics, of more
recent development, that is making an increasing contribution to breeding.
Finally, reproduction biotechnology, that offers tools to enhance and
facilitate the application of both quantitative and molecular breeding methods.
The programme provides sound training in these basic subjects that are
essential to animal breeding and lead to the acquisition of experience through
the critical revision of breeding and biotechnology programmes currently
conducted in different species, discussions with professionals of the sector
and technical visits to public and private institutions involved in breeding
programmes.
The general objective of the Master
is to train young professionals and scientists so that, both from the public
and private sectors they will have the operative capacity to establish, develop
and evaluate animal breeding programmes. Moreover, the second part of the
programme represents a period of initiation to research.
The Master enables the
participants to:
-
Update the scientific grounds of
the disciplines that constitute animal breeding.
-
Acquire experience in the application of the most
advanced methods and techniques and in the formulation of breeding strategies
related to the main species of zootechnical interest.
-
Gain the necessary expertise to
join programmes of molecular genetics, genetic improvement, reproduction
biotechnology and conservation of genetic resources, providing alternatives
that improve the effectiveness of such programmes.
-
Be competent in responding to
the specific demands of administrations or firms.
-
Be introduced into research, critically applying
acquired knowledge, capacities and abilities to the treatment of real problems
related to animal breeding.
-
Exchange enriching experiences
and points of view through a programme developed in contact with the sector in
an interprofessional and international environment.
The Master is organized by the Polytechnic
University of Valencia (UPV) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona
(UAB) as an Interuniversity Official Master of the Spanish university system, and by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ) of the International Centre for Advanced
Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), with the participation of the Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research (IVIA), the National Institute for Agro-food Research and Technology (INIA) and the Institute for Food
and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA) of the Catalan
Government.
The Master
is developed over two
academic years on a full-time basis [120 credits, following the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)] and is
structured in two parts.
The first part of the Master (60
ECTS) is professionally oriented and comprises lectures, practicals, round table discussions and technical visits and it will
be held from 1 October 2007 to 6 June
2008. The first term will take place in Barcelona, at the Department of
Animal Science and Food of the UAB, and the second and third terms will take
place in Valencia at the Department of Animal Science of the UPV. Lectures will
be given by well qualified lecturers from the organizing institutions and from international organizations, universities and research centres in different
countries. Completion of the first part will lead to the
Postgraduate Specialization Diploma described below and access to the Doctorate
in the official postgraduate programmes that recognise the credits obtained.
The second
part of the Master (60 ECTS) constitutes a period of initiation to research in
which participants work on the Master of Science Thesis. This part will begin
from October 2008 onwards and will last for approximately 10 months aimed at
the elaboration of the thesis, that must be publicly defended and approved by
an examining board.
UPV, together
with UAB, will award the Interuniversity Official Master Degree to
participants that have obtained the necessary 120 ECTS.
CIHEAM will
award the Postgraduate Specialization
Diploma to participants that have obtained 60 ECTS taking the full first
part of the Master.
CIHEAM will award
the Master of Science Degree to
participants that have obtained 120 ECTS.
The first part of the Master is held in three terms, with morning
and afternoon sessions. This part is made up of complementary but independent
units so that participants may attend, if they wish, only one or several. Point 8 shows credits awarded to each unit.
This part
requires personal work and interaction among participants and with lecturers,
its international characteristics favouring the exchange of experiences and
points of view. Formal lectures are complemented
by laboratory practicals, computer practicals, round table discussions and
technical visits.
During the second part of the Master, participants prepare the Thesis
required for being awarded the Master of Science Degree in a second academic
year, once the candidate has been admitted, having reached the minimum
qualification required in the first part of the Master, and upon approval of a
work protocol presented under the supervision of the thesis tutor. The experimental work for the elaboration of the thesis will be carried
out in the organizing institutions or in other institutions collaborating in
the programme, for a period of approximately 10 months, under
the direction of a tutor who should be a doctor of renowned experience.
The first part
of the Master is designed for a maximum of 25 participants complying with the
following conditions:
a) Higher university degree, preferably in agronomy,
veterinary sciences, biology or any related field.
b) Knowledge of genetics and statistics. Previous professional
experience related with the Master subject will be valued.
c) Knowledge of Spanish which will be the working
language. Nevertheless, knowledge of English will also be considered in the
selection of candidates, since bibliographical material may be distributed in
any of the two languages. From July to September, an intensive Spanish language
course will be organized for those participants who require it.
The deadline for the submission of applications for non-Spanish
candidates expires on 15 May 2007.
Applications should be sent to:
Instituto Agronómico Mediterráneo de Zaragoza
Apartado 202, 50080 Zaragoza (Spain)
Tel.: +34 976 716000 - Fax: +34 976
716001
e-mail: iamz@iamz.ciheam.org
Web: www.iamz.ciheam.org
Candidates
should send the completed application form accompanied by:
- Curriculum vitae, stating university
degree, experience and professional activities
- Copies of
certificates of courses undertaken, with grades achieved
- Certificates of
language knowledge
- Reasons for
applying to the Master
Selected candidates should subsequently formalize their pre-registration
and enrolment in UPV in accordance with the established procedure, details of
which will be provided.
Spanish candidates should make their
pre-registration and enrolment in UPV by the deadline and in accordance with
the regulations defined on the following website: www.upv.es/posgradooficial.
Applications
from those candidates who cannot present their complete records when applying,
or those requiring authorization, may be accepted provisionally.
Registration
fees for each academic year of the Master amount to 1700* euro, according to
the official fees. This sum covers tuition fees only.
Participants that have to attend the Spanish language course should have
medical insurance valid for Spain covering the duration of the course.
____________________________________
*This price is
orientative and may vary slightly when 2007 official prices for credits of
Master postgraduate programmes are determined.
Candidates
from CIHEAM member countries (Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy,
Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey) and from Latin
American countries may apply for scholarships covering registration fees, and
for scholarships covering the cost of travel and full board accommodation.
Candidates
from other countries who require financial support should apply directly to
other national or international institutions.
Structure and content of the first part of
the Master
1. MOLECULAR
GENETICS
1.1. Molecular bases of animal genetics (5 ECTS)
1.1.1.
Basic concepts of animal genetics
1.1.2.
Organization and structure of the eukaryotic genome
1.1.3.
Control of gene expression
in eukaryotes
1.1.4.
Molecular techniques to
study variability
1.1.5.
Genetic markers
1.2. Animal genomics (5 ECTS)
1.2.1.
Structural genomics: genetic
maps; comparative mapping; gene identification; genome sequencing
1.2.2.
Functional genomics: general
techniques in the studies of gene function; microarrays; proteome analysis; mutation-independent techniques; molecular bases for disease resistance; animal
transgenics and modifications of the
genome
1.3. Laboratory of molecular genetics (5 ECTS)
1.4. Bioinformatics practicals (5 ECTS)
2. POPULATION
AND QUANTITATIVE GENETICS
2.1.
Fundamentals
of statistics (2 ECTS)
2.2.
Population
genetics (2 ECTS)
2.3. Quantitative genetics I (5.5 ECTS)
2.3.1.
Variation and types of gene
action
2.3.2.
Concepts and basic types of selection by additive value:
individual selection; prediction of the additive value; selection methods;
multiple selection for several traits
2.4. Quantitative genetics II (4 ECTS)
2.4.1.
Mixed linear model
2.4.2.
Detection and use of QTLs
2.4.3.
Crossbreeding
2.5. Quantitative genetics III (4 ECTS)
2.5.1.
Estimation of variance
components, random regression and Bayesian estimation
2.5.2.
Analysis and experimental
design in animal breeding
3. GENETIC
RESOURCES AND BREEDING PROGRAMMES
3.1. Genetic
resources management and conservation (3 ECTS)
3.2. Breeding
programmes (7 ECTS)
3.2.1.
Dairy and beef cattle
3.2.2.
Dairy and meat sheep
3.2.3.
Goats
3.2.4.
Pigs
3.2.5.
Poultry
3.2.6.
Rabbits
3.2.7.
Aquaculture
3.2.8.
Breeding applications in
developing countries
4. REPRODUCTION
BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO ANIMAL BREEDING
4.1. Reproduction
fundamentals and techniques (5 ECTS)
4.1.1.
Bases of reproduction
4.1.2.
Semen technology
4.1.3.
In vivo oocyte and embryo
production
4.1.4.
In vitro embryo production
and embryo transfer
4.1.5.
Fundamentals of
cryobiology: cryoconservation of oocytes and embryos
4.1.6.
Transgenic embyro production. Microinjection, ICSI and
somatic cloning
4.2. Practicals
in reproduction techniques (3.5 ECTS)
4.3. Reproduction biotechnologies per specie: cattle,
sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, poultry (4 ECTS)
Lecturers participating in the first part of
the Master
M. AMILLS, Univ. Autónoma
Barcelona (Spain)
B.
AMORENA, CSIC-UPNA, Pamplona (Spain)
J.J.
ARRANZ, Univ. León (Spain)
M.
BASELGA, Univ. Politécnica Valencia (Spain)
B.
BESBES, FAO, Roma (Italy)
J.P.
BIDANEL, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas (France)
A.
BLASCO, Univ. Politécnica Valencia (Spain)
L. BODIN, INRA,
Toulouse (France)
J.P.
BRILLARD, INRA, Tours (France)
J.L.
CAMPO, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
M.J.
CARABAÑO, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
C.
CUELLO, Univ. Murcia (Spain)
J.
FERNÁNDEZ, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
J.M.
FOLCH ALBAREDA, Univ. Autónoma Barcelona (Spain)
J.
FOLCH PERA, CITA-DGA Zaragoza (Spain)
F. FORCADA, Univ. Zaragoza (Spain)
E. GÓMEZ, IVIA,
Segorbe (Spain)
S.J.
HIEMSTRA, Wageningen Univ. (the
Netherlands)
T. JOLY, ISARA, Lyon (France)
J.
JORDANA, Univ. Autónoma Barcelona (Spain)
J.J.
JURADO, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
F.
LÓPEZ-GATIUS, Univ. Lleida (Spain)
E. MOCE, IVIA,
Segorbe (Spain)
F.R.
NEIRA, Univ. Chile, Santiago (Chile)
C.
ÓVILO, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
R.
PENA, IRTA, Lleida (Spain)
M.
PÉREZ-ENCISO, ICREA-UAB, Barcelona (Spain)
J.
PIEDRAHITA, Univ. Autónoma Barcelona (Spain)
R.
PONZONI, World Fish Center, Penang
(Malaysia)
G.
RENAND, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas (France)
J. ROCA, Univ. Murcia
(Spain)
H.
RODRÍGUEZ-MARTÍNEZ, Swedish Univ. Agric. Sciences,
Uppsala (Sweden)
D. SALAMONE, Univ. Buenos
Aires (Argentina)
F.
SAN PRIMITIVO, Univ. León (Spain)
A.
SÁNCHEZ, Univ. Autónoma Barcelona (Spain)
M.A.
SANTACREU, Univ. Politécnica Valencia (Spain)
J.M.
SERRADILLA, Univ. Córdoba (Spain)
L. SILIÓ, INIA,
Madrid (Spain)
M.A.
SILVESTRE, IVIA, Segorbe (Spain)
D.
SORENSEN, NIAS, Foulum (Denmark)
J. TIBAU, IRTA,
Monells (Spain)
M.A.
TORO, INIA, Madrid (Spain)
E. UGARTE, NEIKER,
Vitoria (Spain)
J.S.
VICENTE, Univ. Politécnica Valencia (Spain)
M.P.
VIUDES, IVIA, Segorbe (Spain)
J. YÁNIZ, Univ. Zaragoza,
Huesca (Spain)