Archives: Courses

Learning outcomes:

The student will acquire KNOWLEDGE related to: Writing research projects and CVs; Dealing with a job interview in the best way possible; The steps needed to achieve an academic position; Team management; Communication

Content:

Our 2-day online Spring School is designed to support your professional development by enhancing key skills in academic writing, grant applications, and CV preparation. The program will provide insights into the range of interview formats you may encounter throughout your career journey, along with opportunities to practice interview questions in a supportive environment. We will also explore important topics such as gender equality, effective communication, and navigating the academic research landscape.

Assessment:

The student is expected to participate in at least 75% of the activities, contribute to the interactive activities, and complete the feedback questionnaire.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures, interviews

Venue: Zoom

Previous:

2025 Spring School on Transferable Skills

Previous Requirements:

B.A, M.A, PhD or equivalent course at any Aurora university

Learning Outcomes:

The aim of the hackathon is to offer participants a design-based learning experience that addresses some of the most pressing challenges of our time—climate change, the exploitation of labour and territories by global agribusiness, and growing socio-economic inequalities.

Content:

Anthropogenic climate change, species extinction, and other environmental factors associated with the
Anthropocene are poised to radically transform the conditions under which food is produced,
distributed, and consumed in the coming decades. At the same time, we are witnessing the rise of new business models in the food economy that are increasingly attentive to environmental and social concerns. While it is true that digital technologies — ranging from drones and precision agriculture to e-commerce platforms and delivery applications — are significantly reshaping food production and distribution, a parallel movement is also underway: a renewed interest in traditional foods and artisanal production methods, valued for their distinct tastes, aesthetics and cultural values. Participants will be invited to critically rethink the food economy of Naples in light of these recent developments. Working in interdisciplinary groups, they will be tasked with developing systemic project proposals that promote ecological resilience and social equity, while also ensuring economic and organizational feasibility.

Assessment:

Evaluation of teamwork oral presentation

Teaching methods:

Lectures, fieldtrips, workshops

Course materials:

Readings and presentations

Venue:

Palazzo Gravina, Department of Architecture

Requirements:

No formal prerequisites are required. However, a basic background in plant biology, genetics, and agronomy is strongly recommended.

Learning outcome:

The course provides knowledge and skills in basic genetics and crop breeding, using both traditional and innovative technologies. By the end, students will be able to discuss strategies for developing improved crop varieties and assess breeding approaches to enhance the environmental sustainability of agricultural production.

Content:

Exploitation and Enhancement of Plant Genetic Variability
Principles of meiosis and its genetic consequences; mechanisms affecting reproduction and variation (male sterility, self-incompatibility, apomixis); use of plant genetic resources; strategies to broaden variability through interspecific hybridization, in vitro culture, somatic hybridization, polyploidization, and haploidization.

Classical Crop Breeding Strategies
Genetic and statistical principles for the selection of Mendelian and quantitative traits; estimation of selection gain; breeding methods for self-pollinated, cross-pollinated, and vegetatively propagated crops; application of marker-assisted selection in breeding programs.

Innovative Plant Breeding Strategies
Modern genomic and biotechnological approaches for crop improvement, including gene cloning, vectors, genetic transformation, cisgenesis, gene silencing, and genome editing; breeding strategies for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance; improvement of crop and food quality traits.

Assessment:

Written exam consisting of multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures, seminars, project-based learning

Course Materials:

– Plants, Genes, and Agriculture: Sustainability through Biotechnology. Edited by Maarten J. Chrispeels and Paul Gepts. Oxford Press (ISBN: 9781605356846)
– Lecture notes and teaching material distributed in class

Requirements:

Basic mathematical skills

Learning Outcome:

At the end of the course, the student will develop technical and transversal skills that will allow them to analyse and design pharmaceutical forms and also develop communication and teamwork skills

Content:

Training on the LOUIS tool

Assessment:

The exam consists of an oral examination aiming to assess theoretical, legislative, and technological knowledge. The ability to comment on equations, interpret graphs, and analyze system or reaction diagrams will be assessed. Consistent with the LOUIS framework, the grading will also take into account language proficiency, effective communication, and information management.

Teaching methods:

Frontal Lectures

Requirements:

Basic knowledge of the Italian Language

Learning Outcome:

The course aims to give students notions concerning governance, declined as an economic category as well as a political one. Students will be called to reflect on neoliberist issues, globalization transformations and challenges. Above all, students, at the end of the course, should be able to reflect in an original and reflexive way, on these concepts, balancing workers’ rights and economic growth.

Content:

The course will explore the category of governance, in its various and different meanings, especially those concerning economic and political issues.
Then, the category of governance will be analyzed from the specific perspective of business whose requirements need a fair balance with ethical principles.

Assessment:

The exam consists of an oral examination aiming to assess theoretical and legislative knowledge. The ability to comment and interpret practical cases (such as the Nike scandal of labour child) will be assessed. Consistent with the LOUIS framework, the grade will also take into account language proficiency, effective communication, and information management.

Teaching methods:

Lectures and seminars

Requirements:

Knowledge of the fundamental principles of tax law

Learning Outcome:

Knowledge of tax principles and instruments for environmental protection

Content:

The development of taxation as a regulatory instrument.
Environmental protection in the Italian and European legal systems – environmental taxation and the different categories of reference – environmental taxation and legal principle in the national and European legal framework – circular economy and plastic taxation in Italy and other European
countries – tax instruments to promote sustainable mobility in Italy and other European experiences – energy taxes between European harmonization and national targets – The protection of cultural heritage in the Italian and European legal system – tax incentives for the protection of the cultural heritage in Italy and in some European countries – taxes on tourism – tax payment by works of art.

Course materials:

1)R. Alfano – M. Bisogno (eds.), Insights and reflections on environmental taxation and
policy. Proceedings of the Summer School in European Environmental Taxation, ESI,
Napoli, 2024 (pp. 3 to 115; pp. 121 to 182; pp. 191 to 247);

Learning Outcome:

The course aims to provide students with the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying cancer immunotherapy and the mechanisms with which the main biotechnological drugs interact with their molecular targets in cancer. In this way, the student will be able to understand the rationale for the use of the various classes of drugs in clinical practice. Face to face lectures are integrated with the use of web technologies. The student will be asked to discuss recent findings and/or scientific papers individually and through group collaboration.

Content:

As part of the educational objectives for students of the Master Degree Course in CTF, the
teaching of Immuno-oncology intends to contribute to the formation of those scientific skills
necessary to operate in public and private research laboratories as well as in the Biotechnological,
Pharmaceutical and Biomedical industrial sector, providing knowledge of immunotherapy for
cancer. In particular, the learning objectives are aimed at acquiring in-depth knowledge of the
mechanism of action of different groups of new generation biotechnological drugs and the
rationale for their use in immunotherapy.

Course Delivery Term:

II Semester (Summer): March – May

Teaching Methods:

Frontal lectures will be integrated using web technologies as well as individual and group
exercises in which the student will be asked to study and discuss topics relating to immunotherapy
and biotechnological drugs.

Assessment:

Oral Examination

Location:

Department of Pharmacy

Requirements:

Basic economics and statistics

Learning Outcome:

By the end of the course, students will be able to: Explain and apply an ecosystem perspective to technological and social innovation across multiple scales (firm, territory, region, state, global networks). Diagnose socio-economic and institutional drivers/barriers and critically assess R&I policies and strategies, identifying governance arrangements, incentives, stakeholder configurations, objectives, instruments, trade-offs, and likely mechanisms of change. Design theory-based evaluation frameworks for innovation interventions under uncertainty, including theory of change, key assumptions, risks, learning dynamics, and potential unintended effects. Operationalize evidence and methods and communicate actionable findings, selecting appropriate quantitative/qualitative/mixed-method approaches, defining indicators and data strategies, interpreting results (including sustainability and social-impact implications), and translating them into recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders.

Content:

The course equips students with economic analysis and evaluation tools to examine innovation and entrepreneurship. Grounded in an ecosystem perspective, it trains students to assess how innovation is shaped by the interplay among firms, public institutions, universities, intermediaries, and other stakeholders, and by the rules, incentives, and resources that structure these relationships across multiple scales.

Students will work with real-world cases of public–private strategies, innovation programmes, and entrepreneurial initiatives. Using a complexity-sensitive evaluation approach, they will analyze how change unfolds through adaptation, learning, emergent dynamics, and unintended effects. The course also examines the socioeconomic and politico-institutional conditions that enable—or constrain—sustainability transitions, and the implications for competitiveness, inclusion, and territorial cohesion.

A core component develops students’ capacity to design and conduct theory-based evaluations of innovative and experimental interventions under uncertainty. By integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence (mixed methods), students will assess outcomes in terms of sustainability and societal impact and translate findings into actionable recommendations to strengthen innovation policies and improve the design of innovation-driven services, processes, programmes, and ventures.

Previous requirements: Foundational knowledge of protein structure and pharmaceutical chemistry.

Learning outcomes: Apply basic concepts of protein structure and pharmaceutical chemistry to analyze receptor structure–function relationships and drug–receptor interactions.

Content: Fundamental concepts of receptor chemistry and biology, including receptor theories (agonism, antagonism, partial agonism), signal transduction and receptor classification. Practical activities include 3D visualization and analysis of protein structures using dedicated software, with applications to major receptor classes such as ion channels, GPCRs, tyrosine kinase receptors and intracellular receptors.

Course Material: Course materials include scientific articles, lecture slides, and tutorials on the use of PyMOL for protein structure visualization and analysis.

Venue: Via De Amicis 95, 80131 Napoli. Room A.2.6