University of Copenhagen

This course provides a fundamental introduction to a wide range of modern biophysics. This is a multidisciplinary scientific area where a number of theoretical and experimental methods from physics are used to understand and examine biological systems. The course begins from the fundamental biological building blocks, including proteins, DNA/RNA, and membranes. It discusses their structure and interactions both on a molecular level and their role in large systems such as the structure of the cell, the movement of organisms and the signaling of nerves. The course describes the fundamental physical mechanisms for interaction and transport that biological organisms use, and introduces modern experimental techniques for obtaining structural and thermodynamical biophysical information at the nanoscale.

The first part of the course focuses on historical development to illustrate how history matters to understand economic development by examining the forces that kept economies in a long period of slow growth during pre-modern and pre-industrial times, and the mechanisms that enabled some economies to exit stagnation and ultimately embark on a path of sustained economic development. The second part covers fundamental determinants of differences in economic performance. It considers in more detail how and why history matters for economic development, going beyond answers at a proximate level, and studying reasons and mechanisms that explain differences in economic performance at a deeper level. For this, the course relies on the most recent research literature on the impact of historical events on comparative development, and on the economic impact of differences in fundamental characteristics across countries and subnational regions. For example, it examines whether specific dimensions of climate and geography, certain characteristics of culture and institutions, or the coevolution and interdependence between these different types of fundamental determinants, can explain why some economies have been able to build larger stocks of human and physical capital, innovate and adopt new technologies faster, and maintain a trajectory of sustained development more effectively than others; and whether this type of analysis can also illuminate on the reasons behind underdevelopment. The final part of the course explores recent policy debates, including the effectiveness of development policy tools such as foreign aid, the role of industrial policies and active state interventions to promote economic development, and the causes, consequences, and policy demands to address different types of inequality.

This course provides an overview of past climate and sea-level changes focused on how these changes are observed in the sedimentary records, and what processes, interactions and feedbacks between the components of the climate system may have led to the signal in the sedimentary archives. The course is composed of theory and case-studies. The theory part comprises an introduction to climate archives and marine and terrestrial system processes. Important sedimentary and geochemical proxies, including isotopes, are explained and students are trained in the evaluation of such data. Examples may deal with past climate changes, long-term carbon cycle perturbations and/or modifications of seawater geochemistry on time scales ranging from thousands to multi-millions of years. In the last weeks of the course, students read key papers and produce a review report or write a report about field/laboratory work/data. The course develops the necessary background for understanding the importance of observations and hypothesis testing. It also develops skills in analysing multiple datasets and in interpretation of which process feedbacks lead to the observations, as well as the ability to evaluate the validity of geological data archives and to model results through comparative studies. A series of lectures and practicals consist in signal analysis (data preparation, Fast fourier transforms or FFT, evolutive FFT, Filter design) of sedimentary climatic signals with the aim of extracting orbital components to better understand the influence of insolation on climate through time.

This course covers the fundamental algorithms for statistical computations and R packages that implement some of these algorithms or are useful for developing novel implementations. It develops the ability to implement, test, debug, benchmark, profile and optimize statistical software; select appropriate numerical algorithms for statistical computations; and evaluate implementations in terms of correctness, robustness, accuracy and memory, and speed efficiency. Topics include: maximum-likelihood and numerical optimization; the EM-algorithm; Stochastic optimization algorithms; simulation algorithms and Monte Carlo methods; nonparametric density estimation; bivariate smoothing; numerical linear algebra in statistics, sparse and structured matrices; practical implementation of statistical computations and algorithms; R/C++ and RStudio statistical software development. 

This course introduces key concepts for understanding the nature policy instruments, how they are selected and combined. Cases used illustrate the utility of the concepts and to engage in critical reflection on their application to actual policy situations. This enables students to explain and make sense of policy instruments and design in different national and sectoral settings. It deepens their knowledge of policy making and develops competencies to design public policies for sustainable transition.  

This course explores the relationship between workers and firms. It begins by examining the issue of worker motivation from a traditional perspective. Assuming a rational, self-interested, forward-looking, utility-maximizing agent, the course studies the best way to structure that worker’s monetary incentives. It then moves beyond purely financial motives, considering the role of psychological motives like social preferences, self-control issues, loss aversion, belief biases, as well as team dynamics and information frictions. Finally, the course shifts to the firm’s perspective, focusing on worker recruitment and the design of compensation structures within a firm. Throughout the course, students engage with insights from labor economics, personnel economics, and behavioral economics and delve into the empirical methods used to address research questions in these fields, including microeconometric techniques, as well as lab and field experiments.

This course, designed as a series of interactive workshops, offers an opportunity to write in English within the student's own discipline and to discuss writing with international peers. It also invites students to reflect on writing habits and writer identity. Students choose a research problem to investigate and follow the stages of researching and writing as two interlinked processes: focus the research question, find and review relevant literature, and collect the best evidence to argue for the importance of the research project. The course also provides an opportunity to read like a writer by analyzing model texts and sample texts written by peers to better understand rhetorical strategies and stylistic conventions of selected academic text types. Students also practice writing and giving feedback through drafting four sections of the research paper (an extended definition of a key concept, literature review, argumentative synthesis, and an introduction), discussing these drafts with peers and tutors. The semester of reading, writing, and exchanging ideas with international peers from various disciplines allow students to become better academic communicators.

This course introduces the concept of "the family" through both a demographic lens and a sociological perspective. This allows for a macro-micro approach in understanding what structures shape family configurations, processes leading to family formation and dissolution, family practices and transitions during different parts of the life course. Looking first historically at changes to family structures and policies, the course then zooms in onto key debates with the study of families today. Drawing on concepts, theory, and research designs used in population studies and family sociology to study the phenomenon of "the family," students engage in a multi-disciplinary analysis of the various topics introduced through the course.

This course consults readings drawn from the social sciences, humanities, and the law; specifically, foundational texts in cultural and moral psychology, philosophical texts on value pluralism, and legal cases from psychological, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. These readings serve as an entry point into class discussions related to provocative cultural practices (polygamy, education quotas, circumcision, minarets, inequalities, honor killings). Each week, different students present assigned readings and have in-depth discussions based on the material. The course involves group work, debates, as well as final presentations, based on students emerging viewpoints.

This course is taught by researchers belonging to the Sections of Functional Genomics and of Biomolecular Science and provides a broad overview of both the fundamental knowledge and the rapidly developing and exciting topics in molecular microbiology. Emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial stress physiology, which is essential for bacterial survival in the environment, and thereby tolerance and resistance to antibiotics. The course involves lectures as well as theoretical excises (colloquium) where in-depth discussion of recent research articles are presented by the students with guidance from the instructors. Finally, in the laboratory exercise part, relevant critical and cutting-edge techniques are used to investigate research problems that are currently being studied in the laboratory. This comprehensive course thus provides a strong platform for students who wish to pursue or already are pursuing a research career in molecular microbiology and also in areas connected with general microbiology.