Current regulations establish a mandatory number of hours of Work-Based Learning (Formazione Scuola Lavoro, FSL, formerly PCTO - Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l'Orientamento, and previously ASL - Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro) for all students in the final three years of upper secondary education.
The University of Genova, through its many structures (Departments, Centers, Libraries, Museums, General Administration, etc.), acts as a host institution for FSL activities.
For the Department of Experimental Medicine (DIMES), the coordinators of the FSL activities are Prof. Santina Bruzzone and Prof. Anna Lisa Furfaro.
DIMES is highly active in proposing FSL programs and offers a wide range of activities that take place mainly in the Department’s laboratories during the months of January–February and June. Each year, the calls for the activities scheduled for the following year are published in November and December. Many faculty members affiliated with DIMES organize and promote numerous school–work training pathways.
During their experience in the DIMES laboratories, students will have the opportunity to appreciate how the knowledge of chemistry and biology acquired during their school education is fundamental and indispensable for the development of different experimental approaches aimed at addressing biomedical questions faced by researchers. Students will be introduced to several laboratory techniques and will have the chance to work alongside biomedical researchers through hands-on experiences in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, physiology and pathology, anatomy, and histology laboratories.
Specifically, the proposed activities aim to familiarize students with some of the most widely used techniques in biomedical research (cell cultures, enzymatic analyses using spectrophotometry, extraction and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, etc.). These activities are carried out in the new BioTec Hub Laboratory, a facility specifically designed to provide university students with hands-on laboratory training, but also used for orientation purposes through activities dedicated to high school students. Some of the proposed activities are also conducted in small groups within the individual laboratories of the Department’s sections, which are equipped with advanced instrumentation and infrastructures for biomedical research (such as flow cytometry analysis, chemical synthesis, confocal microscopy, to name a few).
The topics covered by the proposed activities are diverse and include:
- Laboratory techniques to investigate immune system cells
- Experimental investigation methodologies in Neuroscience
- Cell cultures, RNA extraction, and electrophoresis
- Cell cultures and protein analysis by electrophoresis
- Cloning techniques
- Development of cell toxicity assays
- Production and purification of recombinant proteins
- Qualitative and quantitative analysis of molecules of pharmacological interest
- Techniques for visualizing cellular proteins by immunofluorescence: illuminating the cell
In addition, two new activities have recently been introduced and are carried out at the Human Anatomy and Human Physiology sections:
- Introduction to Human Anatomy: Exploration and Understanding of the Human Body
- Human motor physiology laboratory for functional assessment in healthy individuals, patients, and athletes
Throughout all activities, students are constantly supported by experienced faculty members and researchers.
This experience allows students to gain insight into daily life in a biomedical research laboratory and to make more informed decisions regarding their future academic and professional paths.
Finally, DIMES offers a fully ONLINE program consisting of a series of seminars covering various topics. These pathways are primarily intended for students living far from Genova (including those from other regions) or for those who are unable to participate in on-site activities. The seminar topics are medico-biological in nature and also include reflections on the motivations for choosing (or not choosing) a university degree program.
The programs offered by DIMES are mainly aimed at students interested in enrolling in degree courses in Medicine, Biotechnology, Biology, Biomedical Laboratory Techniques, and Motor Sciences.