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Biochemistry teaching in Mauritius
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0307-4412 (94)00137-5 Biochemistry Teaching in Mauritius RAJINDRANATH CHOOLUN
Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius Reduit, Mauritius Introduction Biochemistry as a discipline of its own is still not available on Single or Joint Honours Courses at the University of Mauritius, mainly because of the relatively small size of the country and its population and hence the limited opportunities for employment both in the public sector and in industry. Academic staff members are instead required to service the Biochemistry and the Cell/Molecular biology components of undergraduate courses in Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture and the Biomedical Sciences. Of these, the Biomedical Sciences have the biggest share of biochemistry and biochemically-related courses (physiology, immunology, nutrition, pharmacology). Because of the great strides made in biochemistry in recent years in areas ranging from recombinant D N A technology to polymerase/ligase chain reaction, employers, especially from universities and industries throughout the world, are demanding an even higher degree of biochemical expertise from their prospective biochemists. Hence, despite severe constraints on institutional resources, a modern biochemical course has been implemented at the University of Mauritius for a number of years now. Teaching Resources Formal teaching methods which include lectures, demonstrations, tutorials and laboratory sessions are meant to extract a certain degree of motivation from students. Although this course format sounds similar to that of most other courses, reading assignments, structured problems and problem-solving exercises make it different from others. With most faculty members holding PhD degrees from British universities and other international institutions, curriculum updating and reform ensure that courses have a high degree of relevance of material presented to the students' career objectives. Also, the rather small student population makes the Faculty ratio better than in most other universities. However, the greatest need of Biochemistry courses in Mauritius results from the scarcity of equipment and material. Students often do not have the financial resources to purchase textbooks for their own use and expect the library to spend money on purchasing multiple copies of standard textbooks. This is strongly resisted by staff members as it would leave severely limited resources for normal reference material. The relative expense associated with the purchase of equipment and material means that most graduates end up having a strong background in the theoretical aspects of biochemistry but little experience in laboratory and instrumental procedures. The problem is further cornBIOCHEMICAL
E D U C A T I O N 23(1) 1995
pounded by the problem of repair and maintenance of instrumentation, given the remoteness of Mauritius from areas where servicing is easily available. Within the limited constraints of available material, the course consists of a series of laboratory experiments designed as a reinforcing and training experience and is intended that the student will acquire a set of objectives, primarily: (a) a basic understanding of the common properties of sugars, lipids, proteins and vitamins and the methods for their determination. (b) skills in the operation of common laboratory instruments, such as colorimeters, IR and UV spectrophotometers and pH meters. (c) the ability to utilize NMR, IR and U V spectral data to demonstrate and identify the structure of unknown compounds. This approach to the teaching of undergraduate laboratory classes is meant to provide the students with a better grasp of the material as it stimulates their interest when they realize the use of these instrumental techniques as an analytical tool rather than just a way of operating such instruments. Students in their final year of studies have to undertake a research project as part requirement for their degree or diploma. The project is allocated with regard to equipment and material available, the student's own time limit and a topic that is of relevance or interest to both the student and the department, thus ensuring the student's total commitment. In handling such a research project, students come face to face with the difficulties associated with it and have to seek the right planning and procedure. Thus, in the bibliographic search: (a) The student has to make a critical appraisal of the relevant scientific literature and therefore learns to develop both research techniques and communication skills, (b) in scanning the literature for material selection, the student is exposed to a broad spectrum of available information, which therefore increases his or her perception of the topic, (c) in selecting one analytical procedure amongst the many that exist, the student will have to develop critical faculties with regard to the method, available material, time constraints, costs and operational procedures, (d) towards the completion of the project, the student ought to have learned about experimental design, the handling of data and report writing.
Summary Every endeavour is made to ensure that practical aspects complement the theoretical section, while at the same time, principles of scientific research are integrated with relevant analytical tools. Equipment, though expensive to buy and maintain, has its place in the biochemical sciences as it forms the core of any functional biochemistry teaching and research laboratory as well as an excellent teaching programme.
0307-4412 (94)00137-5 Biochemistry Teaching in Mauritius RAJINDRANATH CHOOLUN
Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius Reduit, Mauritius Introduction Biochemistry as a discipline of its own is still not available on Single or Joint Honours Courses at the University of Mauritius, mainly because of the relatively small size of the country and its population and hence the limited opportunities for employment both in the public sector and in industry. Academic staff members are instead required to service the Biochemistry and the Cell/Molecular biology components of undergraduate courses in Chemistry, Biology, Agriculture and the Biomedical Sciences. Of these, the Biomedical Sciences have the biggest share of biochemistry and biochemically-related courses (physiology, immunology, nutrition, pharmacology). Because of the great strides made in biochemistry in recent years in areas ranging from recombinant D N A technology to polymerase/ligase chain reaction, employers, especially from universities and industries throughout the world, are demanding an even higher degree of biochemical expertise from their prospective biochemists. Hence, despite severe constraints on institutional resources, a modern biochemical course has been implemented at the University of Mauritius for a number of years now. Teaching Resources Formal teaching methods which include lectures, demonstrations, tutorials and laboratory sessions are meant to extract a certain degree of motivation from students. Although this course format sounds similar to that of most other courses, reading assignments, structured problems and problem-solving exercises make it different from others. With most faculty members holding PhD degrees from British universities and other international institutions, curriculum updating and reform ensure that courses have a high degree of relevance of material presented to the students' career objectives. Also, the rather small student population makes the Faculty ratio better than in most other universities. However, the greatest need of Biochemistry courses in Mauritius results from the scarcity of equipment and material. Students often do not have the financial resources to purchase textbooks for their own use and expect the library to spend money on purchasing multiple copies of standard textbooks. This is strongly resisted by staff members as it would leave severely limited resources for normal reference material. The relative expense associated with the purchase of equipment and material means that most graduates end up having a strong background in the theoretical aspects of biochemistry but little experience in laboratory and instrumental procedures. The problem is further cornBIOCHEMICAL
E D U C A T I O N 23(1) 1995
pounded by the problem of repair and maintenance of instrumentation, given the remoteness of Mauritius from areas where servicing is easily available. Within the limited constraints of available material, the course consists of a series of laboratory experiments designed as a reinforcing and training experience and is intended that the student will acquire a set of objectives, primarily: (a) a basic understanding of the common properties of sugars, lipids, proteins and vitamins and the methods for their determination. (b) skills in the operation of common laboratory instruments, such as colorimeters, IR and UV spectrophotometers and pH meters. (c) the ability to utilize NMR, IR and U V spectral data to demonstrate and identify the structure of unknown compounds. This approach to the teaching of undergraduate laboratory classes is meant to provide the students with a better grasp of the material as it stimulates their interest when they realize the use of these instrumental techniques as an analytical tool rather than just a way of operating such instruments. Students in their final year of studies have to undertake a research project as part requirement for their degree or diploma. The project is allocated with regard to equipment and material available, the student's own time limit and a topic that is of relevance or interest to both the student and the department, thus ensuring the student's total commitment. In handling such a research project, students come face to face with the difficulties associated with it and have to seek the right planning and procedure. Thus, in the bibliographic search: (a) The student has to make a critical appraisal of the relevant scientific literature and therefore learns to develop both research techniques and communication skills, (b) in scanning the literature for material selection, the student is exposed to a broad spectrum of available information, which therefore increases his or her perception of the topic, (c) in selecting one analytical procedure amongst the many that exist, the student will have to develop critical faculties with regard to the method, available material, time constraints, costs and operational procedures, (d) towards the completion of the project, the student ought to have learned about experimental design, the handling of data and report writing.
Summary Every endeavour is made to ensure that practical aspects complement the theoretical section, while at the same time, principles of scientific research are integrated with relevant analytical tools. Equipment, though expensive to buy and maintain, has its place in the biochemical sciences as it forms the core of any functional biochemistry teaching and research laboratory as well as an excellent teaching programme.