Modular teaching for interdisciplinary education: Insights from a course in industrial biotechnology for lignocellulose-based processes

Today's workforce must be capable of combining interdisciplinary concepts to meet future challenges and drive innovation. University education needs to stimulate such development and lay a foundation for life-long learning. One area that calls for interdisciplinary competences is the transition to a circular, bio-based economy that reduces dependence on fossil resources, supports climate-change mitigation, and enables the production of a broad range of sustainable products. Biotechnology plays a key role in this transition, and we must equip the next generation of engineers and scientists with a broad set of skills and knowledge to drive and navigate this research- and development-intensive field. Since 2009, we have offered a biennial, third cycle (PhD-level) course, titled Industrial Biotechnology for Lignocellulose-Based Processes. This course addresses all aspects from the field to the gate in discrete modules, covering biomass structure and analysis, enzyme technology, microbial cell factory design, fermentation processes, and associated sustainability and industrial considerations. We here share the motivation for creating the course, how it has developed over the years, and how students, teachers as well as the research community have benefited from it. We also offer insights on how similar broad and multidisciplinary courses can be designed in a modular fashion to accelerate advanced education in other critical fields.