11 March 2013

Shanghai beams in to join life sciences workshop

A life sciences student workshop at the University of Dundee tomorrow will welcome a new set of classmates - in Shanghai.

Students at the British International School in Shanghai and their counterparts at the American International School will join the live workshop via a weblink and then use their smart phones and tablets to access data collection and analysis software developed at Dundee.

Dr David Booth, of the School of Learning and Teaching in the College of Life Sciences, and volunteers from the second year of the undergraduate programme in Dundee will be presenting the live workshop entitled "Human Origins: Traditional and Contemporary Methods".

The workshop is the brainchild of Dr Linda Morris and Ms Linda O'Neill, both of the College of Life Sciences, who will be in the classroom in Shanghai.

The students in Shanghai will be examining the biological relationships between humans and the great apes, using their smart phones and tablets for data-collection and processing and analysis of the data through molecular systematics using `Jalview' software developed at Dundee.

Dr Morris, Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, said, "This is a unique opportunity to show potential undergraduate students the quality of life sciences teaching and technologies Dundee has to offer. Students will be working in real time with one of our most popular lecturers, who will be in the actual lecture theatre in which students would be attending classes should they chose to come to Dundee to do a Life Sciences degree."

Ms O'Neill, Business Development Manager for the School of Learning and Teaching, said, "Dundee has so much to offer international students in terms of student experience, quality of life and educational excellence in life sciences. This workshop also gives them an immediate experience of exactly the kind of work they will be doing as undergraduate students. We hope this will be the first of many interactive, international workshops of this kind."

The workshop is scheduled to start at 8:15am (UK time) and 4:15pm (Shanghai time).

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head. Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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