5 ECTS
The Bootcamp will be an intense and fun course at the beginning of the first semester and before starting the core courses, in order to refresh and/or update the students on the basics of maths, physics, informatics and biology. The course will be tailored based on the background of the recruited students, with the aim of successfully starting the Master’s in a more homogeneous manner. The students will be immersed in different role play games divided in small groups. They will be engaged in a narrative and will need to solve riddles by using their knowledge in Biology, Physics/Math, Chemistry and Programming, similarly to an escape game over several days. The “masters” of the narrative are the teachers.
Besides providing a common background to all the students, this course will help us in evaluating the students’ strengths and weaknesses to provide feedback to the teachers. Furthermore, together with other group activities such as the retreat, the Bootcamp will strengthen the sense of community, and will teach management and collaboration techniques.

Semester 1 - 5 ECTS
This course aims at providing a broad overview on emerging quantitative interdisciplinary fields in biosciences, ranging from experimental state-of-the-art techniques in microscopy, synthetic biology and systemic approaches to life science.

Semester 1 - 5 ECTS
This practical course aims at giving a strong theoretical and practical training in basic and advanced microscopies applied to biological samples (single molecules, synthetic and living systems). Students will learn a wide range of state-of-the-art light microscopy techniques commonly used in modern cell biology labs. The course will cover imaging technologies to investigate single-molecule localization, dynamics, interactions and structure in various biological systems.

Semester 1 - 5 ECTS
The goal of this practical course is to better understand how biological systems work in order to apply engineering principles to Biology. Students will learn basic engineering concepts of standardisation, abstraction hierarchies, forward/inverse engineering and system control theory. It will also provide background knowledge to understand the main experimental tools used in the field. We will exploit quantitative modelling techniques of transcription and translation as tools for designing sequences and genetic circuits.

Semester 1 - 5 ECTS
This is a descriptive course related to the structural study of proteins and their interactions with other proteins, DNA and lipids. Students will also learn how to interpret bibliographic structural data and analyse the biomolecular structures using bioinformatics tools and 3D visualisation software. In addition, this course will cover available bioinformatic tools used for the rational design of bioactive molecules based on the proteins structures.

Semester 1 - TC1 (5 ECTS)
The qbio curriculum is part of the Bio-health Master’s degree of the University of Montpellier, and a few teaching units are shared among all curricula (TC - Tronc Commun). In order to complete the ECTS of the first semester, students must choose one course from the following shared UEs:
- Functional Genomics
- Statistics applied to Biology

Semester 2 - 5 ECTS
This practical course will initiate students to modern techniques used for structural characterisation of macromolecules on various spatial and temporal scales (NMR, Crystallography, cryoEM, Structural Mass Spectrometry). For every approach, the students will have a concise description of the biophysical fundamentals, prepare the samples, acquire and analyse the data. The overall aim is to provide a complete comprehensive list of the biophysical tools available and how they can be combined to unveil structural and mechanistic aspects of biology.

Semester 2 - 5 ECTS
It is often difficult to navigate and rationalise the unprecedented accumulation of large datasets currently available in the fields of biology and medicine. Here we will provide the modelling tools that are nowadays necessary to organize this copious amount of data and knowledge, and build mechanistic models of biological processes that inform research in biology and biotechnologies. Various projects will allow students to familiarise with modelling approaches in biology, ranging from a molecular to a systemic point of view.

Semester 2 - 20 ECTS
Practice, group and individual work are pivotal elements of the qbio curriculum. During the two years the trainees will go through three different curses dedicated to different aspects of (dry and wet) lab work.
Lab1 is designed around interdisciplinary team projects across different labs, accompanied by advanced research seminars and tips on how to initiate the research life: how to keep a lab book, write a report, approach the scientific literature, follow health and safety in a research lab,....

qbio is focused on team projects. Because of its nature, team-building activities and the establishment of an agreeable cooperative environment will be key for a proper learning process. Whereas the Bootcamp aims at creating this atmosphere for newly enrolled M1 students, the retreat planned every year for the entire qbio team, will enable a higher level of cooperation and solidarity between M1 and M2 students as well as the lecturers.
In this three-day retreat taking place in an isolated place, we plan to have icebreaker and team building activities, as well as intensive lecture series to complement the courses during the year, and brainstorming sessions in which we will be pushed to re-think and improve the qbio programm together with the students.

Semester 3 - 5 ECTS
The Workshop is a series of lectures given by external speakers. The main topic of the lectures will change every year, and we aim to invite world-leading researchers in their respective field. The topic and the speaker will be decided at least one year in advance. We will encourage the speaker and the attendants to produce notes out of the lectures, which will contribute to the evaluation of the course.
On the side, qbio students have funding to organise a conference (brainstorm on the topic with mentors, find and invite speakers, manage the funding and advertise it).

Semester 3 - 15 ECTS
This is a short internship in a research lab (2 months). Interdisciplinary subjects and collaborations among different teams are encouraged. Usually the Lab2 takes place in Montpellier as students are expected to follow other UEs in this semester, but exceptions can be made.

Semestre 3 - 5 ECTS each
Students must choose two courses from the ones in the shared pool of the Bio-health Master’s degree:
- Genetic-Epigenetic Information and their mechanical bases
- Signalling - methods and concepts
- Bioinformatics and Machine Learning
- Integrative Pathophysiology
- Physical Biology: from molecules to function

Semester 4 - 5 ECTS
This is a scientific writing workshop that will accompany the students during the semester to unveil the secrets of scientific writing, and help to compose the report of their internships. In parallel, students will be taught how to approach and provide a critical reading and understanding of the scientific literature.

Semester 4 - 25 ECTS
This long internship (>= 6months) is the official entrance to research. Students will be involved in a research project and work side-by-side with renowned experts in the field of their choice, in France or abroad.