Welcome to
the School of Life Sciences
High quality education across the life sciences
School of Life Sciences
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Introduction
Welcome to the Biomedical Science course at Keele! Everyone on the Biomedical Science teaching team is looking forward to seeing you at the beginning of the semester and you will find the University and the School of Life Sciences to be friendly places with plenty of people to help you settle in.
Our students tell us how much they enjoy their studies, with the curriculum being described as detailed, stimulating and challenging with a good choice of modules and excellent laboratory classes and project work. The wide range of teaching methods we use is very well received and our students feel that the programme prepares them well for employment. Students identified the opportunity for industrial (and clinical) placement as being one of the highlights of the programme. All of the opportunities available to you at Keele will help you to reach your full potential and develop knowledge and skills that will help you to progress in your future career.
My colleagues and I look forward to seeing you at the start of the new academic year and – remember, just ask if you’re not sure of something and we’ll be happy to help.
Best wishes
Dr Anne Loweth
Biomedical Science Programme Director
Preparing to arrive
You don’t need to do any specific reading or other work in preparation for your studies before you arrive as we make sure that the necessary material is covered from the start. If you’d like to do some reading before you arrive, however, you may want to take a look at the principal textbooks for the programme, which we refer to throughout the first two years of the programme. These are:
Berg, JM, Tymoczko, JL and Stryer, L (2011) Biochemistry 7th Edition Palgrave MacMillan
Alberts, B, Johnson, A, Lewis, J, Roberts, K and Walter, P Molecular Biology of the Cell 5th Edition Garland Science.
There are lots of copies of these textbooks in our library so there is no need to purchase them unless you wish to.
If you’d like to read about the roles of Biomedical Scientists in Pathology, take a look at the Institute of Biomedical Science’s website at www.ibms.org and once you’re at Keele you’ll be meeting plenty of staff who are practicing Biomedical Scientists in our local hospitals.
Other items to bring with you to university include note-taking equipment (pads of paper, pens); pencils and rubber for drawing and a basic scientific calculator (please note, though, that programmable calculators are not allowed in examinations). Many students also bring a laptop computer, which you may find useful for note taking in lectures and for preparing coursework. There are many PCs available across campus but you may find it useful for working in your room. Keele computers are currently running Windows & and Office 2010.
Welcome week
There are a whole range of University-wide events running during Welcome week, which starts on Monday 30th September. School specific events include:
Monday 30th September 2013 11-12am: Welcome to Life Sciences talk from the Head of School
Tuesday 1st October 2013 10-11am: Introductory talk on the Biomedical Science programme
First meeting with your personal tutor, who will meet with you regularly throughout your studies and is there to help you settle in, help you with any problems or queries you may have and to discuss with you your academic progress.
Wednesday 2nd October 2013 1-4.30pm: School of Life Sciences Treasure Hunt. A good opportunity to meet your fellow students and start to find your way around campus.
Lab induction and introduction to the practical laboratory classes. You will be provided with a lab coat and marker pen at this session.
All the dates and venues for these events will be posted here as soon as they are finalised. Additionally, the information will appear on your e-timetable on the Keele Learning Environment (KLE).
Additional info
Biomedical Science course leaflet
Student support & Development Services
If you have any queries, please contact the Biomedical Science programme director, Dr Anne Loweth (a.c.loweth@keele.ac.uk).
