Duration
32h Th, 4h FT
Number of credits
| Master in agricultural bioengineering (120 ECTS) | 4 crédits |
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Part 1: Animal Reproduction Physiology:
General information about sex determination and differentiation, male and female reproduction, fertilization, embryogenesis, placentation and parturation will be discussed in great detail. The importance of these subjects in livestock breeding will be studied with emphasis on cattle, swine and poultry. In addition, we will talk about important themes such as artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive techniques as well as some of the main livestock reproductive diseases.
Part 2: Animal Recording and Genetic Improvement (Breeding) of animals:
Sustainable livestock production needs quantified information gathering and fine phenotyping. Different aspects of zootechnical data collection, including new smart farming technologies such as sensors, will be presented and illustrated. The principles of animal breeding will be put in the context of sustainable animal production systems, associated breeding objectives, genetic evaluation and animal selection, and the latest developments in innovative breeding technology such as genomics. Teaching will be partially done using computer supported directed work.
Excursion
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- describe male and female reproduction, e.g. the reproductive anatomy and the function of reproductive hormones
- master the knowledge related to the most important reproduction tools in livestock
- know zootechnical performance recording, including novel uses of sensors, and the use of the generated data
- master basic knowledge related to animal improvement, including the analysis and modeling of data related to breeding
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
Face to face lectures (+ live streaming if required)
Work on exemplifying examples (graded) on computational server
Excursion (if allowed)
Recommended or required readings
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Assessment methods and criteria
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
Continuous assessment
Additional information:
Part 1: Animal Reproduction Physiology:
Closed book exam
Open questions
Written exam (can be in French)
Part 2: Animal Recording and Genetic Improvement (Breeding) of animals:
Continuous assessment based on reports after directed work session
Closed book exam
Open questions
Written exam (can be in French)
Final result will be based on the average of both parts independently from their number of hours.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The slides of the last year stay available at the beginning of the teaching period. However the content may be adapted during the progress of teaching.
Contacts
You can always ask us questions during class or by making an appointment:
nicolas.gengler@uliege.be, +32 81 62 22 06
martine.schroyen@uliege.be, +32 81 62 23 27