01. Analyse, critically and reflect on contemporary issues in relation to synchrotron science and technology.

Activities:

Concepts and problem-solving techniques are introduced on-line and modeled in lectures where solutions to selected problems are derived. Students are assigned a set of conceptual and mathematical problems to solve in the form of four assignments.

02. Critically review and analyse research data and interpret the results with reference to the scientific literature in order to develop appropriate conclusions and convey these in a written report.

Activities:

Students prepare an individual report in the style of a professional research journal article which accurately and ethically describes the experiment, its findings and draws appropriate conclusions. Students are provided with a template on which to base their report.

03. Design and perform experiments using synchrotron techniques, equipment and software which produce conclusive and accurate results.

Activities:

Students conduct, in groups, two extended laboratory experiments of five hours duration each in close consultation with a staff demonstrator, who assists them in the design and conduct of the experiment.

04. Describe the recent developments in the field of synchrotron techniques and identify areas which constitute interesting research problems. Apply research principles and methods applicable to the field of synchrotron science.

Activities:

Students are provided with a simple research problem solvable by computational methods, and are expected to solve it individually, in consultation with demonstrators. The approach and results are summarised in a written report, which includes a proposal for extending the project by further work on a related interesting research problem.