Microbes have a major effect on the ecosystem and humans. Microbes run biogeochemical cycles of the elements, play a major role in the intestines of animals and biotechnology such as waste water treatment and food production, just to mention some. On the other hand, microbes cause diseases for plants, animals and humans.
Profile and activities
A doctoral degree in the programme comprises of a doctoral thesis and 40 credits of doctoral studies. The studies are divided into discipline-specific and transferable skills.
We also organise research seminars, where you get to present your own work, receive feedback and get to know your fellow doctoral researchers.
Courses in research ethics and transferable skills are offered throughout the academic year by the Doctoral School in Environmental, Food and Biologiacal Sciences (YEB).
To get started:
- Visit the doctoral programme’s study guide and get to know the degree structure
- Check out upcoming research seminars and courses in the programme
- Browse transferable skill courses organized by the doctoral school
MBDP offers support to attend MOOC
MBDP offers the opportunity to complete the in depth MBDP thematic courses by attending MOOCs.
You may include a MOOC in your degree if you find a suitable course. In order to get the credits, you must obtain a course certificate. To obtain the certificate, you usually need to pay a fee. MBDP supports its doctoral candidates’ participation in field-specific MOOCs with approximately 50 Euro.
The financial support can be applied using this online application form. Before applying, please discuss with your supervisor about the course you are planning to take, to make sure it fits your study plan. The planning officer Mia will review the application and decide on the funding. You should first pay the course certificate fee yourself and MBDP will then reimburse the cost to you.
Here is a collection of links for you where you can find interesting courses that can be included in your degree.
https://www.coursera.org/
https://www.mooc.org/
https://mooc.helsinki.fi/course/index.php?categoryid=2
https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs
If you have any questions about the funding, please contact the planning officer by emailing to mbdp-office(a)helsinki.fi.
Upcoming courses:
MBDP-002 MBDP/YEB orientation Spring 2021
Tue 9 February 2021 at 10:00 - 12:00 via Zoom
Registration in WebOodi 23.11.2020-2.2.2021
MBDP-107 Introduction to LINUX
Late February to early March 2021
More information: Mia Vehkaoja
Organised as distance learning
Registration in WebOodi
MBDP-102 Microbiology & biotechnology 2: Metagenomics
26-30 April 2021
Oranisers: Jenni Hultman and Antti Karkman
Registration in WebOodi
Organised as distance learning
Mini-symposium: "Virus nanobiotechnology/vaccine production in plants"
Spring 2021
Organiser: Kristiina Mäkinen
Registration in WebOodi
MBDP-108 Advanced LINUX
September 2021
More information: Mia Vehkaoja
Organised as distance learning
Registration in SISU
MBDP-109 Statistical analysis with R
November 2021
More information: Mia Vehkaoja
Organised as distance learning
Registration in SISU
MBDP-103 Microbiology & biotechnology 3: Human microbiome
November 2021
Organiser: Reetta Satokari
Registration in SISU
Phytobiomes/phytomicrobiome
Autumn 2021
Organiser: Fred Asiegbu
Registration in SISU
MBDP-106 MBDP first manuscript
December 2021 - March 2022
More information: Mia Vehkaoja
Registration in SISU
Seminar series
MICROBIOLOGY SEMINARS (MBDP-302)
Fridays at 9.15
2021:
26 February 2021
Jérôme Collemare, Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands: Mining the fungal biodiversity for bioactive molecules: from genomes to compounds.
19 March 2021
Arthur Ouwehand, DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences
16 April 2021
Jussi Heinonsalo, Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki
Organiser: Miia Mäkelä, miia.r.makela(at)helsinki.fi
10 attendances = 1 ECTS, own presentation = 1 ECTS
Maximum Microbiology Seminar credits = 3 ECTS
VIRUS CLUB (MBDP-301)
Thursdays at 14:30
2021:
Thu 11 February at 14:30-16:00
Docent of Microbiology Nina Atanasova and Dr. Mikko Auvinen (Finnish Meteorological Institute): "Modelling and mitigating the risks of airborne virus transmission in a restaurant setting"
Thu 4 March at 14:30-16:00
PhD student Kiira Kalke (Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku) TBA
and
PhD student Ianevski Aleksandr (Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki) TBA
Thu 8 April at 14:30-16:00
Dr. Xiaoyu Sun (Molecular and Integrative Bioscinces Research Programme, University of Helsinki) TBA
and
Dr. Maria Anastasina (Molecular and Integrative Bioscinces Research Programme, University of Helsinki) TBA
Thu 6 May at 14:30-16:00
TBA
Organisers: Ausra Domanska, Alesia Levanova and Ilona Rissanen, e-mail: mbdp-office(at)helsinki.fi
10 attendances = 1 ECTS, own presentation = 1 ECTS
Maximum Virus Club credits = 3 ECTS
Annual meeting
MBDP annual meeting takes place every year during spring. The event consists of inspiring speakers and relaxed get-together. The annual meeting aims to gather MBDP students, supervisors and board members to meet in relaxed atmosphere once a year. Annual meeting participants are rewarded with one study credit.
Annual First manuscript writing course
The programme also organises annually First manuscript writing course. The course gives guidance on the academic writing process and enables during the course to write all the sections of a scientific manuscript. Participants will receive critical assessment by the course teacher and peers.
Events taking place at the Viikki campus are listed in this calendar (however, most info is not up-to-date)
- Cell Biology Club (by ILS doctoral programme )
- Developmental biology journal club (by ILS doctoral programme )
- Genome club (by ILS doctoral programme )
- Food Science seminar series LINK to program
Many courses relevant for MBDP doctoral candidates are organised all over the world.
You may find interesting and useful courses among these:
- PhD courses organised by the NOVA network
The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are members of the NOVA (The Nordic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University Network). Students of member faculties may participate on NOVA courses free of charge (travel and accommodation not included). Please find more information here. - NorDoc – Nordic Doctoral Training in Health Sciences network provides doctoral training courses in health offered by the NorDoc partner organisations
- PhD courses organised by other doctoral programmes and schools
- Information skills courses by the Helsinki University Library
- You may also find relevant courses in the Master’s Programmes of the University of Helsinki.
- Or you can search from all University of Helsinki courses in English.
- CSC – IT center for science arranges many kinds of courses and workshops
- See national course list, for example, in FinBioNet (Finnish Doctoral Programme Network in Life Sciences) page → FinBioNet course calendar