Feb 20, 2024
2023 E-learning Gem Award for Bio-Image Analysis Course
From left to right: Dr. Melissa Sanabria, Dr. Anna Poetsch, and Dr. Robert Haase © Frank Richter
The course Bio-Image Analysis, Biostatistics, Programming, and Machine Learning for Computational Biology, part of the Molecular Bioengineering Master’s program, was awarded the 2023 E-Learning Gem award for good digital teaching. The award recognizes the lecture series for its innovative topic, accessibility, and creativity of the lecturers.
Throughout the lecture series, students were introduced to basic concepts of microscopy image data analysis, Python programming, biostatistics, and research data management. The course also covered new AI technologies such as using ChatGPT for bioimage analysis. The lecture series promoted an interactive learning environment. The lecturers offered freely accessible teaching materials and shared their lectures on YouTube to let students learn the material outside the lecture hall. With a focus on student engagement, the team included dynamic activities such as quizzes and surveys. They also encouraged implementing the ideas in practice. The students could immediately apply their new skills by using functional scripts for their own data analysis projects.
The lecture series was part of the Master’s program Molecular Bioengineering at the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB) of TU Dresden. It was a joint effort of Dr. Anna Poetsch and Dr. Melissa Sanabria from the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of TU Dresden, Dr. Allyson Ryan from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology (MPI-CBG) and Genetics and Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL), and Dr. Robert Haase from PoL, now at the Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI) in Leipzig.
One of the interactive lectures within the Bio-Image Analysis, Biostatistics, Programming, and Machine Learning for Computational Biology course
“It was a lot of fun to prepare and give this lecture series,” says Dr. Robert Haase, former research group leader at the PoL, now training coordinator at the ScaDS.AI in Leipzig. “This course started during the COVID-19 lockdowns so it pressured us to come up with new ideas on how to make the best of the situation and engage students as much as we can. Once we were back in the classroom, we didn’t really see the point in giving boring lectures anymore.”
"The TUD E-Learning Gem 2023 is a recognition of our team's efforts to make learning accessible and compelling for students," says Dr. Anna Poetsch, research group leader at the BIOTEC. “It’s great feedback and a motivation to improve the course in the coming semesters.”
The lecture series on Bio-image Analysis, Biostatistics, Programming and Machine Learning for Computational Biology was named the TUD’s “2023 E-learning Gem” and awarded 2,000 euros for its innovative e-learning concepts for a class size of 31 to 100 students. The prize money will be used to finance student assistants, technical staff, and material costs in the next semesters.
About the E-Learning Gem Awards
The awards are sponsored by the Center for Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching (ZILL) of TU Dresden. The competition aims to showcase creative teaching examples and inspire teachers to improve their digital and hybrid teaching. All submitted projects can be seen in the Gem Gallery.