Multi-million dollar makeover for UQ labs

First-year science students at The University of Queensland will have a more personalised learning experience following the unveiling of new teaching laboratories.

Located within the School of Biological Sciences at St Lucia, the $3.5 million learning space combines modern computing with traditional wet lab facilities and the latest audio-visual technology.

School of Biological Sciences First Year Coordinator Dr Louise Kuchel said the laboratories were designed to facilitate small group learning in the face of large classes.

The labs encompass two large rooms which can each accommodate up to 112 students, with a modern preparation area in between. In these rooms students will learn everything from traditional dissections to interrogating online genetic databases.

“Students are now able to research information on the Internet in real time while doing experiments and analysing the data, which boosts the opportunities for student-driven learning,” Dr Kuchel said.

The labs are designed to host a variety of class types, from modelling population growth to dissecting sea-snakes and manipulating DNA.

These renovations come shortly after the School of Biomedical Sciences completed a major refurbishment of their laboratories with an aim to facilitate greater opportunities for student-centred learning.

School of Biomedical Sciences Teaching Services Manager Stephen Moss said the new facilities provided students with the opportunity to learn and understand the real world application at the same time.

“We are not just teaching science, we are teaching students to think like a scientist,” Mr Moss said.

The School of Biomedical Sciences labs include walls which serve as interactive whiteboards, powerful microscopes, moveable demonstration benches and computers incorporating the latest data acquisition and analysis software.

Mr Moss said the design of the new spaces facilitated better discussions and interactions, and had already proven popular with students.

Media: Dr Kuchel (07 3365 1034, l.kuchel@uq.edu.au) or Jay Kewin or Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (07 3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)