Module ENGI49115: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Department: Engineering

ENGI49115: Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module will cover applied and environmental microbiology of relevance to environmental engineers.
• To provide students with practical experience handling and analysing environmental and industrial samples from wastewater treatment systems and soils.
• To give students an understanding of how microbial processes impact physical and chemical processes in environmental and engineered systems.

Content

• Applied microbiology theory covering various contexts e.g. wastewater treatment, sustainable resource management and bioremediation.
• Practical laboratory sessions of analytical techniques complementing the theoretical content.
• Biosafety and sampling handling procedures.
• Analysis and interpretation of environmental data.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of the principles of various water treatment processes and bioremediation.
• Recognise the role of microbial communities in environmental and engineered systems.
• Understand the parameters that influence microbial activity.
• Knowledge of how to test and interpret key chemical and biological parameters in environmental monitoring and bioremediation.

• Prepare and analyse environmental samples using standard methods for chemical and biological analysis e.g. turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and microbial indicators.
• Maintenance of a detailed laboratory book.
• Ability to interpret and water quality chemical and microbial data and synthesise findings into a post-lab questionnaire and/or lab report where appropriate.

• Critical analysis skills.
• Practical laboratory and technical skills.
• Good laboratory practice and detailed recording keeping.
• Data logging, visualisation and interpretation.
• Ability to draw evidence based conclusions from experimental data.
• Teamwork and communication.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is delivered through a combination of lectures and practical laboratory sessions. The lectures will complement the practical lab activities. The laboratory sessions provide hands-on experience in microbiological and water quality techniques, reinforcing theoretical content through practical application.
• Coursework is appropriate as a mode of assessment for this module because it allows students to work on realistic engineering problems. Assessment will be through completion of a final laboratory report and presentation.
• The module summative assessment will include a report based on the practical sessions and a detailed interpretation of the results (e.g. comparing samples, or stages in the treatment works) totalling 70% and an oral presentation (30%).
• Students are encouraged to engage with staff Office Hours for one‑to‑one or small‑group discussion of any aspect of the module. These sessions are offered weekly during teaching, timings are published on Learn Ultra.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students are expected to maintain a lab book throughout the module. At the end of each lab there will be time for a written reflective exercise to be completed at the end of each session. Feedback on lab book entries and reflective exercises will be formative to prepare students for the summative assessment.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.