This was a very enjoyable and rewarding subject. The weekly practicals enabled us to gain hands-on experience with many fundamental molecular science techniques, with a large focus on analytical techniques involving DNA and proteins. However, the assessment load is quite high, and includes weekly lecture and pre-lab quizzes, three lab reports, 3 IBL quizzes, a practical exam and a theory exam. Although a lot of time needs to be invested in writing the lab reports, we received a lot of guidance and detailed feedback by the tutors which greatly helped. The practical exam was not as stressful as I expected, as we had performed a similar experiment earlier in the semester and they provide you with the procedure for the exam. The theory exam was not too difficult, however it was sometimes inconvenient to type the working out steps for the calculation questions. Amber was an exceptional subject coordinator. Not only did she ensure that our reports and assessments were marked in a timely manner, but she also offered to provide feedback on one of the sections of our report before we submitted it. She also explains concepts very clearly in lectures. Ultimately, this subject provides good foundations if you are considering a career in research, and you can do well in this subject, provided you put in the effort.

Fantastic subject. Alex and Amber are excellent coordinators. Challenging but very rewarding.

This is a time-consuming subject and for planning purposes I'd treat it as worth 1.5 subjects (do it with an easy breadth or underload). Nonetheless, it was one where I felt my grade was proportional to my effort. There are a lot of components, both the lectures and practical work, and you must understand both. For assessments, reach out to your tutor/Amber when you need assistance; the staff for this subject are incredible and will help. Many don't make utilise staff/tutorials enough, so they put in a lot of time but don't see the same returns.

Valuable subject, high workload, LOTS of different assessment items (over 30 including the 2 quizzes each week). Giving it 5 stars for Olivia, the best demonstrator. Other demonstrators seemed good but she made the subject extra enjoyable!

In terms of the materials, and the learning process, this subject is definitely a great one and you will learn lots of things through the practicals and lectures. However, the workload for this subject is honestly heavier than what I thought it'd be, and the prac reports are not easy to score well in since they score to a very high standard (which is good, but yea it's not easy). As for the exam, we all felt like it was fair in difficulty, but most of the people I know don't finish in time (honestly we all feel like its impossible to finish calculations, graphs, and general SAQ in 2 hours). However, some of us do feel like the coordinator can be pretty condescending. Many of us were scared of asking questions cause she can really answer us in a way that makes us feel very stupid. It is almost obvious that they're only "nice" to people who scored well. I almost feel like they generalise those who do not score well with all being lazy & dumb (not thinking that some of us tried the best that we can, despite not achieving an H1)

This subject given online could have been a disaster given that it is a practical based subject, but it turned out to be my favourite this sem. Amber and the rest of the staff worked sooo hard to make it as smooth as possible and to make sure we get as close to the real lab experience as possible. Even though I never actually got to the lab, I still feel like I learned an insane amount and would feel confident to know what im doing going into BCMB30010. I actually really enjoyed writing the reports, and the feedback was always great. The exam is based on the 12 lectures plus application that you get to practice throughout the practicals/workshops and if you payed attention throughout the sem, the exam should not worry you. For the reports Amber makes these super detailed marking rubrics so you know exactly what to mention and focus on. I mean yes, I wish I could have taken it in the lab but given the situation I'm so grateful for how it turned out, unlike other online practicals.....*cough* BIOL10008 *cough* ....which were just shitty 1 min videos. Absolutely loved this subject and made me even more certain that I wanna major in BCMB. Highly recommend! Especially given that you will likely be able to go back to campus from now on.

I absolutely loved this subject - this subject really allows you to learn new things on the more practical side and also have fun at the same time. Amber is the most organised subject coordinator I've ever had and she is always willing to give help. The demonstrators were equally as lovely, and pracs were quite relaxed overall - even though some pracs ran overtime, the demonstrators did not rush us to finish. Although the prac reports may seem stressful, I found they were a really good way to develop your scientific writing skills, which is obviously important for anyone who's doing science. The first report was marked more harshly so don't be disheartened if you don't receive the mark you hoped for, but the markers seemed to be quite lenient for the second and last reports where nearly 50% of students got H1. The rubrics provided were also very clear and Amber is always willing to give feedback on a section of your report! This year's exam was quite fair and similar to past exam papers, although it was a bit rushed in terms of time, doing past papers and asking for feedback on responses really helps. Overall, an excellent subject for those who are pursuing research/ do something more practical and also relatively simple H1 subject if you put in some effort.

Extremely well run subject - Amber is super organised and willing to give help. The pracs were much more relaxed than I was expecting and kinda fun, while the demonstrators were lovely and helped out a lot. The prac reports weren't too bad to write and worth a fair chunk of the overall mark (just make sure you don't leave them until the last minute, as they are lengthy and quite time consuming to write). I found the exam to be quite hard and required a lot of memorisation of techniques

Got to learn a great deal. But need to work on it every week.

Pracs are chill and the reports were surprising enjoyable to write (: Overall really well organised and fun subject