30 August 2024
The programme was designed under the leadership of Sape Kinderman and Rob Schuurink. Sape: 'With the arrival of this major, we offer students the opportunity to combine knowledge from biology, chemistry and data science in a challenging, instructive and above all fun study programme. In shaping this interdisciplinary major, we have used the expertise in data science and computer science that the University of Amsterdam already has in house. Students learn to use knowledge from (bio)informatics and artificial intelligence to design projects and analyse the data from their experiments. They do practicals and projects in fields such as molecular biology. With this major, they are particularly well trained for a master's in life sciences. For example, the master's in Green Life Sciences, the master's in Chemistry: Molecular Science or the master's in Biomolecular Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit.'
The major fills a gap in the science faculty's educational portfolio in molecular life sciences. The need to train students is great. In the coming years, an increase is expected in the number of highly educated people who can interpret biochemical and molecular data.