This Major aims to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of biosciences at the interface between biology and chemistry. The programme, through a transversal approach, provides the necessary skills to manage and to work on complex and multidisciplinary Biotech, Medtech or Pharma projects.
The training programme offered by the School of Engineering of the HES-SO Valais-Wallis features a well-balanced combination of lectures and laboratory applications. Students are trained to develop a broad vision of industrial projects: from market research to the regulatory aspects through technical developments.
Objectives
The Applied Biosciences major covers the following subjects:
- Step into the booming domain of sustainable biotechnology and explore the strategies and technologies that are paving the way to an oil-free, cleaner and more ethical future.
- Develop novel analytical tools for the diagnostic industry. Discover advanced ways of running processes using the most recent developments in Process Analytical Technologies (PAT).
- Gain a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry process from the discovery to the manufacturing of drugs.
- Acquire knowledge into the rapidly developing field of genome analysis and understand how gene functions and dysfunctions are related to diseases.
- Discuss real-world cases of Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs and get expertise in these crucial fields for industry.
Modules
Specialization modules
Module | Professor | ECTS | Semester | Location | |
S08 | Genomics and genome analysis | Bruno Schnyder | 4 | Autumn | Sion |
S10 | Quality Management & Regulatory Affairs | Marc Pfeifer | 4 | Spring | Sion |
S11 | Sustainable Biotechnology | Fabian Fischer | 4 | Autumn | Sion |
S23 | Pharmaceutical Sciences Technologies | Origène Nyanguile | 4 | Spring | Sion |
S24 | In vitro Diagnostics | Jean-Manuel Segura | 4 | Spring | Sion |
Master thesis
The Master thesis is divided into three modules. Please follow the links below to access the module descriptions:
Cluster-specific modules
Module descriptions and further information are available on MSLS Community Centre.
Modules | ECTS | Semester | Location | |
BP1 | Compound Profiling in Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
BP3 | Design of Biopharmaceutical Production Facilities | 3 | Winter School | Wädenswil |
BP5 | Physiology and Immunotherapies | 3 | Spring | Bern and online |
BP6 | Tissue Engineering for Drug Discovery | 3 | Spring | Olten/Bern and online |
BP7 | Bioanalytics in a Regulated Environment | 3 | Winter School | Muttenz |
BP8 | Physicochemical Principles of Industrial Drug Delivery System Design | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
Additional Offer from other Clusters
Module descriptions and further information are available on MSLS Community Centre.
Modules | ECTS | Semester | Location | |
CO1 | Modelling of Complex Systems | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
CO2 | Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
CO3 | Optimisation and Bio-Inspired Algorithms | 3 | Spring | Olten and online |
CO4 | Imaging for the Life Sciences | 3 | Spring | Olten and online |
C2 | Surface Characterisation | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
C4 | Green Chemistry | 3 | Spring | Olten and online |
C5 | Chemistry and Energy | 3 | Spring | Olten and online |
F2 | Nutrition and Nutrition Related Chronic Diseases | 3 | Autumn | Olten and online |
![]() | Dr Simon Crelier Lecturer for Biotechnology since 2003. Competences in downstream processing, process engineering, microencapsulation, biogas production, micropollutant removal, biocatalysis and enzyme technology. |
![]() | Dr Fabian Fischer Lecturer for chemistry and biotechnology since 2002. Competences in biofuel cells, enzyme catalysis, and functional polymers. Coordinator of module S11. |
![]() | Dr Urban Frey Head of Master in Life Sciences. Competences in analytical chemistry, hyphenated mass spectrometry techniques, trace contaminants. |
![]() | Dr. Gerrit Hagens Lecturer for cell biology and bioengineering using mammalian cells since 2017. Competences include mammalian cell line and manufacturing process development for originators and biosimilars, monoclonal antibody- and cell-based therapies. |
![]() | Dr. Nils Hanik Lecturer for chemistry and process engineering since 2020. Competences in material sciences, microbial biopolymer production, process analytical technologies and advanced digital data treatment. |
![]() | Dr Franka Kalman Lecturer for Analytical Chemistry since 2010. Competences in analytical chemistry of organic, inorganic and bio-molecules (LC, CE, MS, sample preparation, method validation, In Process Control, Release, Process Mapping). Coordinator of module BP7. |
![]() | Alexandre Kuhn Lecturer for Genomics and Bioinformatics since 2020. Competences in molecular biology, high-throughput sequencing and big data analysis/data science. Applications to human health and disease, molecular diagnostic and biotechnology. |
![]() | Marc Mathieu Lecturer for Chemistry and Biological Chemistry since 2011. Competences in Peptide and Protein Synthsis and Analysis. |
![]() | Dr. Sasa Miladinovic Lecturer for bioanalytical chemistry and mass spectrometry since 2022. Competences in mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, proteomics, small molecule LC/MS analysis. |
![]() | Dr Origène Nyanguile Lecturer for General and Bio-organic Chemistry since 2010. Competences in antiviral drug discovery, virology, infectious diseases and peptide therapeutics. Coordinator of module S23. |
![]() | Dr. Andreas Peer Lecturer for medicinal and organic chimistry since 2019. |
![]() | Dr Marc Pfeiffer Lecturer for Bio-analytical Sciences since 2009. Competences in Molecular Diagnostics and Immunodiagnostics to include assay automation & miniaturization solutions for the medical in-vitro diagnostics (IVD). Coordinator of module BP4 and of module S10. |
![]() | Dr. Matthias Rüdt Lecturer for (bio)process engineering and downstream processing since 2021. Competences in (biopharmaceutical) DSP development and manufacturing, multivariate data analysis, machine learning, process analytical technologies and software development. |
![]() | Dr Sergio Schmid Lecturer for molecular biology since 1993. Competences in the development of microbial recombinant protein and peptide production, genome engineering, and in the development and validation of qPCR methods (ISO17025 accredited laboratory) for the detection of micro-organisms and for the analysis of gene expression. |
![]() | Dr Bruno Schnyder Lecturer for Cell biology and Microbiology since 2008. Competences in Immunology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiocidal and Bioactivity testing Research. Coordinator of module BP5 and module S08. |
![]() | Dr Jean-Manuel Segura Lecturer for chemistry since 2008. Competences in biophysics and bioanalytics, in particular in the development of bioanalytical assays and biosensors for in vitro diagnostics, for biotechnology and for food technology. Coordinator of module S24. |
![]() | Dr Mannfred Zinn Lecturer for Bioprocess Engineering since 2011. Competences in Bioprocess Engineering, Environmental Biotechnology, and Biomaterials. |
Contact
Dr Urban Frey
Head of the major
School of Engineering HES-SO Valais-Wallis
Rue de l'Industrie 23
1950 Sion 2
T +41 58 606 86 57
urban.frey(at)hes-so.ch