Blog 1. Bioprocessing Introduction

I honestly don't know what to feel having Bioprocessing as the welcome module for our final year. Maybe because I enjoyed my six months work placement where I now find sitting in a lecture a bit different. Also, this module is optional and I am still not decided whether to take it or not. There are a lot of questions in my head and I am hoping to get answers soon. Picking two modules out of three is not easy as I find all of them beneficial but a choice has to be done. Being a final year student, I know it's not going to be easy and it is actually terrifying yet exciting. "Hard work pays off", so I am just going to do my best and enjoy it.

The first task was to define Bioprocessing. Having it the very first time, I define it as "Producing or manufacturing chemicals and drugs through a biological procedure". Also, hopes, fears and expectations was asked. I hope to understand the deeper meaning of Bioprocessing and its relevance to the industry. On the other hand, failing the module is my greatest fear. However, I expect that by the end of the module, I will be confident enough to go to an industry related to Bioprocessing and be confident on what I have learned all throughout by doing all the necessary work. There was also games played which I was confused at the start but Barry said it will help us improve time management and communication skills. I agree that these two key areas will be improved all throughout the module as it is a continuous assessment which involves group works.

In the second class, the breakdown of the continuous assessment was laid out and I feel confident about it. I see it as fair marking as it is divided into individual where I can reflect my own understanding about the module; and groups where I can share ideas with others hence improving my ability to work in a team. Thinking about where I stand over the module at the moment helps me to be more eager to learn the module deeper as it feels like I do not know anything. Equally, having discussed assessment breakdown will help guide for the effort that should put in equivalent to the percentage of it. Finally, writing this blog the first time as part of the assessment feels good as I actually think back and see the benefits of the module. However, since this is the first time, I am still not confident.