Genetics and Molecular Biology

Quality Assurance (QA)
Organization and Responsibilities of the Degree Course Quality Assurance
Sapienza's Quality Assurance (QA) System is described in detail on the Quality Team's web pages, available at https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/team-qualita.

The web pages describe the ten-year process developed by the University to build Sapienza's Quality Assurance, the organizational model adopted, the QA stakeholders (Quality Team, Monitoring Committees, Joint Faculty-Student Committees, Degree Course Quality Committees), the active Working Groups, the main activities developed, and the documentation prepared for managing Quality Assurance processes and activities in Teaching, Research, and the Third Mission.

The Web Pages also serve as a communication platform and a platform for providing reference data for Review activities, drafting reports by the Joint Faculty-Student Commissions and Monitoring Committees, and compiling the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports.
Each Degree Program and each Department may apply the Sapienza Quality Assurance Model defined on the Quality Team Web Pages to its own Degree Program/Department Quality Assurance, adapting it to its own organizational needs while still complying with the models and procedures defined by ANVUR and the Quality Team.
The Degree Program/Department Web Pages, together with the SUA-Teaching and SUA-Research Reports, serve as communication tools for implementing the Quality Assurance System at the Degree Program/Department level.

The program's Quality Management and Assurance Group, composed of the program coordinator, at least two faculty members, at least one student representative, and a representative of the administrative support staff, carries out the following activities:
- Analysis of data relating to admission, progress, and exit from the program,
- Analysis of student experience,
- Preparation of the Annual Monitoring Report,
- Preparation of the cyclical Review Report.
The program, through the Quality Assurance Group, will monitor the corrective actions indicated in the review report through periodic meetings. It will evaluate the results of their implementation, highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
 

In 2008, the Faculty of Sciences (MFN) organized two round tables, in agreement with the NVF and in collaboration with SOUL. On April 4th, a round table discussion was held on the topic of "Graduate Education: Expectations and Prospects for the World of Work," with the participation of numerous business representatives (Johnson & Johnson Medical, Micron Technology Italia, Nergal, Alfa, etc.). On November 6th, a round table discussion was held with the participation of INVALSI, the Italian Air Force, CNIPA, the Civil Protection Agency, ISPESL, RIS, the Science Museums of the Municipality of Rome, and the State Forestry Corps. The suggestions and observations that emerged were taken into account in the formulation of the Master's Degree program. At the final meeting of the University-wide consultation on January 19, 2009, taking into account the results of the preceding online consultation, the participating organizations welcomed the rationalization of Sapienza's educational offerings. This rationalization, in addition to reducing the number of courses, aims to diversify them into highly attractive classes for which there is more than adequate faculty coverage. Furthermore, after a detailed evaluation of the Faculties' educational offerings, the organizations themselves expressed a favorable opinion on the establishment of individual courses. Finally, the various presidents of the Biology CAD who have taken turns over the years have both organized a meeting with representatives of Sapienza Biology students, right from the initial phase of the Master's program, to gather any comments. More recently, they participated in a Technical Roundtable on the role of biologists in healthcare professions (July 8, 2011). The aim was to organize, in conjunction with the College of Italian University Biologists (CBUI), training internships for Biology undergraduates/graduates in analysis laboratories in both clinical and environmental settings. The Rector declares that in drafting the course regulations, this course and any related curricula will differ by at least 30 credits from other courses and curricula in the same class, pursuant to Ministerial Decree 16/3/2007, art. 1 §2.
 

The Faculty of Sciences (MFN) organized an initial stakeholder consultative meeting on March 9, 2016. The meeting was attended by the Dean of the Faculty, members of the Monitoring Committee (representing the degree programs), representatives of professional associations, including the National Association of Biologists (ONB) and the National Association of Food Technologists, and representatives of organizations and companies, including ISPRA, Omegafarm, and Digital Video. A science journalism professional also participated in the meeting, recognizing the fundamental importance of communication for researchers in presenting their research findings to an audience of both specialists and non-specialists.
The ONB representative, in his final report, emphasized that the Faculty of Sciences' curriculum fully meets the criteria for adequate training for students in the profession of biologist. The expected learning is consistent with the professional demands of this profession, providing a broad-based preparation in the subjects that characterize the various areas of expertise. Specifically, this includes scientific specializations such as Degree Programs (CdS) in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, and Technologies for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage. However, despite the excellent preparation and expertise acquired in the various programs, it was noted that graduates were having difficulty entering the workforce, as society and the labor market require biologists and biotechnologists with increasingly well-defined and specific specializations. Therefore, it was deemed beneficial to increase contacts with local companies to build bridges between trainers and businesses. It was also emphasized how important it is to adapt to new technologies and the use of social media to inform businesses and citizens about the University's activities.

During the meeting, several in-depth observations emerged in subsequent meetings, which were more focused and focused on related cultural areas. This meeting was followed by a meeting of the College of Biologists of Italian Universities on April 6, 2017, attended by Professor Carla Cioni representing the Faculty.
Establishment of the Steering Committee for Biology and Biotechnology Programs (April 17, 2018)
The Steering Committee was established by the Charles Darwin Department of Biology and Biotechnology (BBCD) with a resolution dated April 17, 2018, upon the proposal of the Department's Biology and Biotechnology Program Coordination Committee. The aim of this committee is to facilitate relationships between faculty members involved in training future biologists and the companies and organizations interested in the various professional profiles of biologists. The Coordination Committee, chaired by Prof. Marco Oliverio (later elected Director of the BBCD Department), includes the Presidents of the Degree Courses in Biological Sciences (L-13), Cellular Biology and Technologies (LM-6), Ecobiology (LM-6), Genetics and Molecular Biology (LM-6), and Neurobiology (LM-6), the President of the Biotechnology CAD (L-2, LM-8), the member of the SMFN Faculty Monitoring Committee for the biological area, the two members of the SMFN Joint Commission, respectively, for the BBCD Department and the Department of Environmental Biology, and the Delegate of the BBCD Department in the College of Italian University Biologists (CBUI).
The proposal to establish the Steering Committee was made during the meeting of March 2, 2018, in which the Chair of the Coordination Committee announced that he had contacted several potential "Interested Parties," also based on suggestions from various area professors, and had received positive responses from the President of the Bracciano-Martignano Regional Park (Nature Conservation Department), the Chief Biologist of the Scientific Police, the Editor of the periodical "Le Scienze," the Scientific Director of EBRI (Neuroscience Department), the Chief Biologist of the Scientific Police, the President of the National Association of Natural Science Teachers (ANISN; Teaching Department), the President of Federparchi (Nature Conservation Department), the Treasurer of the ONB, the Director of the Rome Birra Peroni Plant (Industry Department), and the Director of the Department of Genetics and Rare Diseases at the Bambino Gesù Hospital (Biomedicine Department).
First meeting of the Steering Committee for the Biology and Biotechnology Area Courses (September 17, 2018)
Members of the Degree Course Coordination Committee or their delegates will participate in the meeting. Speakers representing interested parties will include: the President of the Bracciano-Martignano Regional Park, the Chief Biologist of the Scientific Police, the Scientific Director of EBRI, the President of ANISN, the representative of ISPRA, and the Director of the Birra Peroni plant in Rome were also present. The Editor-in-Chief of the periodical "Le Scienze," the President of Federparchi, the Treasurer of the ONB, the Director of the Department of Genetics and Rare Diseases at Bambino Gesù Hospital, the President of MAVI Sud, and the Councilor of the ONB did not speak directly, but provided helpful contributions. After a brief presentation of the educational offerings by the program presidents, all attendees expressed their appreciation for the high quality of the graduates' training, highlighting their strong logical thinking and ability to work in a team. They also highlighted several areas for improvement, including increased selection and strengthening students' scientific communication skills, similar to what emerged at the meeting held at the SMFN Faculty on March 9, 2016. Among the areas for improvement were the ability to communicate in popular language, aimed at an audience not familiar with the subject, and the ability to present scientific concepts in both written and spoken English. The meeting also highlighted the limited employment opportunities for Junior Biologists in the industrial sector, where even Senior Biologists face competition from Chemists, and the need for these graduates to have greater knowledge of environmental microbiology. Other measures call for strengthening knowledge of biostatistics and computational analysis. For the Forensic Police, it would be useful to introduce legal expertise. The ANISN representative emphasized the lack of training in Science Education, which is resulting in the poor teaching skills of recent graduates, who receive no training in such an important and sensitive area for the country. The ISPRA representative emphasizes the need for Ecobiology graduates to have greater knowledge of environmental crimes. The Nature Conservation representative suggests introducing in-depth cartographic and statistical studies into master's degrees, in addition to in-depth legal studies, and enhancing graduates' management and planning skills. He also emphasizes the importance of training in scientific dissemination, which broadens the employment prospects of biology and biotechnology graduates.

Steering Committee Renewal (October 26, 2022) and First Meeting (January 27, 2023)

On October 18, 2022, the Master's Degree Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology established the new composition of its Steering Committee. In addition to the President of the Master's Degree Program, the Committee includes representatives of the National Association of Biologists and various professional organizations, from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to neuroscience research institutes, and representatives from the education sector, both at secondary school (National Association of Natural Science Teachers) and postgraduate level (PhD and Master's degrees). Meetings with the Steering Committee are scheduled regularly, approximately once a year, to allow for proper monitoring of the constantly evolving educational offerings and demand.
The current composition of the Steering Committee is as follows: internal members include the President of the Master's Degree Program, a representative from the doctoral programs, and a representative from the university Master's programs. The external members, in common with other biological sciences CdS, are: the ONB representative, the General Technical Director of the State Police, the Vice President of ANISN and Director of ABE (AMGEN BIOTECH EXPERIENCE Italy), the Scientific Director of EBRI, the QC Supervisor at Reithera s.r.l., the Chief Operating Officer of Monsanto Agricoltura Italia, and the President of the Bracciano-Martignano Regional Park.
On January 27, 2023, the Steering Committee met at the BBCD Department of Sapienza University. Interesting points emerged from the discussions with stakeholders, particularly the opportunity to include training activities aimed at gaining familiarity with statistical analysis, data processing, computational analysis, and programming tools (e.g., Mathlab) and with the latest experimental techniques, such as optogenetics. There is also a need to provide graduate and master's degree students with practical skills such as scientific planning and communication ("outreach").
Link to the minutes: http://bbcd.bio.uniroma1.it/bbcd/qualita.

Renewal of the Steering Committee (November 11, 2024) and first meeting (November 14, 2024)

The new Steering Committee was approved at the Genetics and Molecular Biology Degree Course Council meeting on November 11, 2024. The new committee includes new professional figures. The new committee's internal members include the Master's Degree Program President, a representative for doctoral programs, and a representative for university master's programs. External members include the delegate of the Order of Biologists of Lazio and Abruzzo (OBLA) for relations with universities, the ONB nutrition delegate, a Lab Manager from Genoma Eurofins, the Quality Control Supervisor from Reithera s.r.l., a Researcher from IRBM Science Park SpA, a Senior Researcher from the National Research Council (CNR), the President of ANISN, the biologist and Director of the Quality and Technical Support Section for Forensic Genetics of the Third Division / Scientific Police Service, and a former student of the Master's Degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology.
The first consultation with the steering committee members was held remotely on November 14, 2024. To encourage participation, representatives of the Steering Committees for the Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences and the Master's Degrees (LM) of the LM-6 class of the BBCD Department of Sapienza University were convened for a single meeting. The stakeholders' opinions were also collected through questionnaires. The discussion examined the professional profiles intended to be created by the three-year L-13 program and the subsequent master's degree LM-6, the specific needs of the labor market, and possible modifications and additions to the curriculum. The contributions of the stakeholders convened essentially confirmed the validity of the curriculum presented, as it ensures a solid foundation, while highlighting some gaps and suggesting improvements. Specifically, it was suggested that students should be encouraged to acquire "soft skills," the ability to analyze big data, and the use of statistical/mathematical tools. The Steering Committee members and the Degree Program Presidents also agreed to reinstate Career Day to bring students closer to the world of work.