BDBI Welcome Session

Yesterday morning, the students that will start the Bachelor’s Degree in Bioinformatics attended the Welcome Session at ESCI-UPF.

Albert Carreras, ESCI-UPF Director, opened the session by presenting the main characteristics of the joint degree (UPF, UB, UPC and UAB) and encouraged them to work hard to take the most advantage of the opportunities that Bioinformatics offers.

Carreras also spoke about the COVID-19 situation and explained the general recommendations to prevent the virus transmission and the university contingency plan. The ESCI-UPF Director appealed to the individual and collective responsibility to stop the spread of the pandemics.

Lastly, Carreras presented the university services which students can benefit from, such as the Mentoring Programme, the Psychological Support Service, the Inclusion Office and the Equality Office.

Later on was the turn of Nacho Dualde, ESCI-UPF Manager, who explained the Scholarship Programme of ESCI-UPF. He explained how to apply for the grants and how to maintain them, and reminded the students they could still apply for the scholarships until the end of October.

After that, Dualde also presented the Student Guide, a useful document where the students can find the most important information to make moving around the university easier, at least at the beginning of the degree.

Afterwards, Hafid Laayouni, the Head of Studies, went down to the detail of the BDBI programme. As he said, it is perfectly normal to be a little anxious and nervous during the first days at university. But he calmed down the students by explaining that the more information they have, the more comfortable they will feel and the easier they will adapt to the university years. Among other aspects, Laayouni explained the basic information of the degree, the subjects distribution, the structure of teaching and gave them some tips for success.