Activities and examinations
Mandatory Courses and Examinations
BENEFRI Neuroscience Workshop
This is a three-day block course organized in Bern and Fribourg once a year that usually highlights 6 different areas of neuroscience.
The aim of these courses is to give doctoral students a broad insight into many areas of neuroscience during the 3-4 years of their dissertation. The doctoral students also actively participate in these workshops by presenting their work (short presentations or posters). 2 ECTS points are awarded for each workshop. Participation in at least three of these workshops (6 ECTS in total) is mandatory for program completion. The ECTS points are recognized by the GCB and the GHS in their curricula.
| Duration | 3 days (Lectures) |
|---|---|
| Credits | 2 ECTS |
| Location | Lectures in Bern or Fribourg |
| Schedule | January/February 2023 – 3 time attendance (2+2+2 ECTS) |
Hands-On Neuroscience Workshop
The Current Techniques in Neurosciences workshop will cover experimental, technical and analytical approaches in neurosciences.The first day includes focused lectures on multiples aspects of current techniques in neurosciences.The second and third day are dedicated to hands - on practice under supervision in one of the host laboratories.Students are required to attend the lectures at least once, and perform a 2 - days hands - on session(3 ECTS in total).
| Duration | 1 day (Lectures, see below) + 2 days (Hands-on) |
|---|---|
| Credits | Multiple choice questions (Day 1- 1 ECTS) and Journal club (Day 2 & 3 – 2 ECTS) |
| Location | Lectures in Bern or Fribourg, Hands-on in host laboratories in Bern or Fribourg |
| Schedule | Every other year |
Neuroscience lecture series – 2 ECTS (see Annex 2 for description)
Biweekly in-person lectures (hybrid on request) on broad neuroscience topics ranging from molecular and cellular neurobiology to system, clinical and computational neuroscience. Lectures are given by invited scientists/clinicians from Switzerland and abroad. Attendance of minimum 70% of the lectures is mandatory to take the exam.
Optional Courses and Examinations
The program proposes a series of courses with credits optional to the doctoral students. These are offered at the Universities of Bern and Fribourg and include multiple topics. Note that courses outside this curriculum can also be included in the program at the request of the doctoral students and granted by the Program Committee.
Neuro-Physiology
As candidates might have previous training/educational background in neuroscience, they can decide if they need to attend neurophysiology lectures that are on-going in Bern. The neuroscience lectures (6 lectures in English) within the Physiology course (organized by the Department of Physiology, Bern) for the Masters in Biomedical Engineering can be followed in this case
| Duration | Self-learning – 1 year |
|---|---|
| Credits | 0.5 ECTS for lecture attendance 1 ECTS for exam(oral) |
| Location | Examinations in Bern or Fribourg |
| Schedule | Spring and Autumn |
Neuro-Anatomy
The program allows for students to follow a neuro-anatomy course Students can then sit for an oral exam in neuroanatomy (2 ECTS), which is held together with the neurophysiology exam.
| Duration | Self-learning – 1 year |
|---|---|
| Credits | 0.5 ECTS for lecture attendance 1 ECTS for exam(oral) |
| Location | Examinations in Bern or Fribourg |
| Schedule | Spring and Autumn (min. number of students required; contact the lecturer) |
| Program | The neuro-anatomy courses can be attended either in Bern or Fribourg. In Bern the course is organized by the Anatomy Department (Dr. Kati Hänssgen - kati.haenssgen@unibe.ch), as part of the training for medical students. It is conducted in German from April to May (5x1.5hrs). In Fribourg it is organized by the Anatomy Department and is conducted in German/French from February to April (5x3hrs). |