Abstract:

Through their years at university, biotechnology students should develop research and scientific communication skills that are essential for their professional future. Little importance is given to this during the first years, it being usually only addressed when preparing their final thesis; however, students should be offered the opportunity to work these skills in previous years. The aim of the experience presented here was to provide the students the appropriate environment to develop scientific skills through a “scientific congress simulation”. Competences to be developed include data basis searching, deadline accomplishment, synthesis of information, results interpretation and communicative skills such as oral and written divulgation of the information.

The students were given the instructions, guidelines and deadlines, as this are usually provided in a scientific congress. They were asked to present a written report and a poster, which would be orally presented the set day at the hall of the main building of the School (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y del Medio Natural, UPV). Deadlines and guidelines for the documents and posters preparation were published on the university learning platform, and accomplishment was taken into account for the assessment of the activity. Likewise, students had access to a rubric that was used not only for the poster design but also as a tool for self- and peer-assessment the day of the presentations.

The students accessed a survey prepared in Google Drive for the assessment of the activity. Results indicate that they valued the experience as very positive, giving special emphasis to the poster presentation, which was quite new for them. Most of the students meet the guidelines and deadlines fixed by the professors. As extracted from the survey, students perceived that the activity helped them acquire some of the competences attributed to a research profile. Results of peer-evaluation were very good, which was considered an indicator of the good acceptance of the activity.

Keywords:

Congress simulation, scientific competences, communicative skills, self and peer-assessment.