FEMS Microbiology Letters, 367, 2020, fnaa192

doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnaa192
Advance Access Publication Date: 0 2020
Commentary

COMMENTARY

Summer school: a warm journey through teaching

microbiology to undergraduate students
Osiel Silva Gonçalves† , Jessica Rosa Nogueira† , Leandro Lopes da Silva,
Giarlã Cunha da Silva, José Guilherme Prado Martin, Mateus
Ferreira Santana, Denise Mara Soares Bazzolli‡ , Marisa Vieira de Queiroz
and Maria Catarina Megumi Kasuya*,†
Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada à Agropecuária (BIOAGRO), Universidade
Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG 36570–900, Brazil
∗
Corresponding author: Departamento de Microbiologia, BIOAGRO, Laboratório de Asssociações Micorrı́zicas, Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Tel: +55
(31) 3612-2456. E-mail: mkasuya@ufv.br.
One sentence summary: The summer school on microbiology offered the opportunity for an academic-scientific group to share the mainstream
methods and techniques used in microbiological research to undergraduate students.
†
these authors contributed equally to the work
Editor: Beatrix Fahnert
‡
Denise Mara Soares Bazzolli, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-6966

ABSTRACT
The Núcleo de Estudos em Microbiologia Agrı́cola (NEMA) is an academic-scientific group created by graduate students in
the Post Graduate in Agricultural Microbiology in the Department of Microbiology at Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil.
NEMA’s purposes include promoting and sharing research and knowledge on microbiology in different fields of application.
Here, we will comment on our experience in organizing the Summer School on Microbiology and teaching microbiology to
undergraduate students during the program. NEMA offers this annual event to disseminate and stimulate knowledge about
microbiology for undergraduate students in a participatory, collaborative and interactive way.

Keywords: education science; open science; professional development; science popularization; scientific teaching;
undergraduate education

INTRODUCTION students from different educational backgrounds from educa-

tional institutions across Brazil and its bordering countries. In
In 2017, the Núcleo de Estudos em Microbiologia Agrı́cola
this commentary, we share our experience in organizing the
(NEMA) has created the summer school program for under-
Summer School on Microbiology. We also evaluated students’
graduate students called the ‘Summer Journey on Microbiol-
microbiology background in the IV edition of the SJM, their expe-
ogy’ (SJM). SJM is an annual event to share the knowledge and
rience and perception of the program.
research developed by members of the Department of Micro-
biology at Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) as well as the
mainstream methods and techniques used in microbiological
research. Since the first edition of the program, we have received

Received: 3 October 2020; Accepted: 18 November 2020


C The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail:

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1
 2 FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2020, Vol. 367, No. 00
BACKSTAGE OF SUMMER JOURNEY ON
MICROBIOLOGY
NEMA is a democratic, non-profit and open group for all gradu-
ate students from the Department of Microbiology at UFV (Prates
Júnior et al. 2017; Prates Júnior et al. 2018), currently composed of
eight Ph.D. students and 11 M.Sc. students. The extension and
education activities are planned weekly through meetings that
include strategic committees (i.e. general coordination, secre-
tary activity, events organisation and scientific planning), and
all decisions are collective and made for the good of NEMA. The
organisation of the SJM begins around August each year (Fig. 1A).
In weekly event committee meetings, various issues are dis-
cussed including matters such as administration, finances, dis-
closures, scientific programming and sponsorships, the opening
and deadline for applications, registration fees, scientific and
cultural programming and laboratories that will offer practical
classes (Figure S1, Supporting Information). In the end, the pro-
gramming schedule and registration deadline are made avail-
able on the website (https://www.nema.ufv.br/jornada/; Fig. 1A).
The registration form records information about the student,
including the institution of origin, course, microbiology grades,
letter of interest and academic curriculum. Also, students can
choose from three-course options according to their interests
but they are selected for one course depending on the availabil-
ity. Registration remains available for one month and then the
selection stage begins (Fig. 1A). Students are selected according
to their university of origin, course, scientific merit and inter-
est in learning about microbiological techniques and methods.
Details about the time-course, planning and execution of the
summer school are given in Figure S1 (Supporting Information).
A WARM WELCOME IN THE SUMMER
JOURNEY ON MICROBIOLOGY
The SJM always takes place in February, which is the sum-
mer vacation for universities in Brazil when the temperature
can be higher than 32◦ C in some locations: literally a warm
welcome (Fig. 1A). For a week, students have opportunities to
fully immerse themselves in the world of microbiology. We have
received around 250 students from different institutions since
the first edition of the SJM.
On the first day, there is a brief presentation by NEMA
members about the SJM and the objective of the program, fol-
lowed by a group exercise to ‘break the ice’ and bring students
together (Fig. 1B). Next, the students visit the research micro-
biology laboratories at the Instituto de Biotecnologia Aplicada
à Agropecuária, UFV (Fig. 1B). Every morning for a week, stu-
dents attend three academic and professional lectures related
to microbiology. This is an important moment to disseminate
the research carried out in the Department of Microbiology.
We invite professors, young doctors and postdoctoral fellows to
present their research. Furthermore, students have the opportu-
nity to disseminate the research work carried out in their uni-
versity of origin in a poster session at SJM, and at the end of
the week, to report their experiences during the event (Fig. 1B).
In the afternoon, courses take place in laboratories and usually
are divide into two parts, one theoretical, and the other practi-
cal. The laboratories of the Department of Microbiology offered
the courses, which are delivered by Ph.D. and M.Sc., and usually
cover four major areas (genetics, viruses, environmental/applied
microbiology and physiology) based on the topics coved by each
course (Table S1, Supporting Information and Fig. 1C). The prac-
tical course in the laboratories is undoubtedly the part students
anticipate most. In general, two to five students are select by
each course/laboratory.
OUR EXPERIENCE DURING THE WEEK IN THE
IV EDITION OF THE SJM
We received 60 students from different regions of Brazil and two
from different universities in Peru in the IV version of the SJM
that took place in February 2020 (Figure S2A, Supporting Infor-
mation), with the majority of students were from the biological
sciences (Figure S2B, Supporting Information).
After a week of spending time with the students, it was now
time to hear from them. This step happens in two moments:
feedback from students on the last day of the SJM and with an
anonymous online form after the SJM. We declare that no infor-
mation regarding personal identifying data was taken. In gen-
eral, the students told us about their experiences in the labora-
tories, unknown techniques, provided general comments, and
appreciation for the event.
Altogether, most students positively assessed their profes-
sional development, resources and satisfaction (Figure S2C, Sup-
porting Information). We grouped the main words stated by the
students in the word cloud (Figure S2D, Supporting Information).
Comments on the importance of the SJM for professional and
academic development; words of thanks for the opportunity;
comments about some courses, lectures and the techniques
learned; and the overall organization were the main words stu-
dents used in the evaluation (Figure S2D, Supporting Informa-
tion).
Finally, we applied a priori and posteriori test on the subjects
covered by the course to assess the success of the students
on the knowledge gained. We obtained the cumulative score,
the initial score over the final score, for the groups of genet-
ics, viruses, environmental/applied microbiology and physiol-
ogy. In general, we observe a lower variance in the total score
of Genetics and Viruses groups compared to the Environmen-
tal/Applied Microbiology, and Physiology (Figure S3, Supporting
Information). This may be explained by the fact that some stu-
dents had theoretical knowledge of these areas. However, in the
Environmental/Applied Microbiology and Physiology category,
this scene changes with almost 2X of the total score for these
fields, suggesting that students have a limited perspective on
applying information from basic science to applied research.
As stated earlier, we noted that some students are aware
of the theoretical knowledge about the technique, and few had
already used them at some point in their academic life. How-
ever, we observed that they lacked practical experience or had a
wrong view of the technique, especially of molecular approaches
such as DNA extraction, electrophoresis and polymerase chain
reaction. From our viewpoint, most students had never encoun-
tered the techniques we covered in the courses at their uni-
versity, therefore the SJM provides an excellent opportunity for
these students to learn more about the mainstream methods
and techniques used in microbiology.
In general, the students’ evaluation and performance were
very positive. We were happy to realize that SJM had achieved
its objective. Furthermore, the students provided some sugges-
tions, namely to diversify the areas of the lectures covered,
include other activities for integration, better signal the lecture
rooms and consider another approach for students’ final presen-
tation. The points students raised are important for the evolu-
tion of the SJM.
 Gonçalves et al. 3

Calendar

Feedback from the students

Microbiology
journey

Aug.

Weekly meetings
Registration are made available

(A) Sep.
(B) Group dynamics Meeting the laboratories
Practical session
(C)

Physiology
Viruses

Environ/Applied Microbiology
• Molecular • Use of phages as • Fluorescence • Metabolic
Registration iden ca n of ve to microscopy models on a

Gene
filamentous fungi control bacterial applied to the genomic scale:
• Iden ca n of biofilm study of flow balance
transposable • Techniques to microorganisms analysis for the
Oct. produc n of
elements in detect viruses • Analysis of
bacterial that infect microbial biomass and
genomes microorganisms commun es by ethanol
1st selection
• Construc n of DGGE • Microbiology and
Theory classes plasmid vectors (Denaturing characteriz on
Presentation of lectures Gradient Gel of fermented
for cloning and
Nov. on microbiology Electrophoresis) foods
molecular
expression • Beneficial • Biotechnological
General Program Overview
• Analysis of the microorganisms proper s and
2nd selection Monday Thuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
phenotypic and for the industrial
08:00 Welcome Reception 1st lecture 1st lecture Practical course Feedback from students genotypic profile produc n of applic on of
09:00 Opening NEMA apresentation 2nd lecture 2nd lecture Practical course Award Ceremony microbial Agricultural, c acid
Dec. 10:00 Group dynamics Cofee break Cofee break Practical course Cofee break resistance in Forest and bacteria
11:00 Cofee break 3rd lecture Poster session Practical course Closing Ceremony bacteria Ornamental
12:00 Meeting the laboratories Lunch Break Lunch Break Lunch Break - seedlings
13:00 Lunch Break Lunch Break Lunch Break Lunch Break -
3rd selection
14:00 Theory classes Practical course Practical course day off
15:00 Theory classes Practical course Practical course day off
16:00 Cofee break Cofee break Cofee break day off
Jan. 17:00 Theory classes Practical course Practical course day off
18:00 Theory classes Practical course Practical course day off

Organisation before the event

Feb.

Summer Journey in Microbiology

Figure 1. General representation of Summer Journey in Microbiology. (A) Calendar of the outline organisation of the Summer Journey in Microbiology. (B) Outline of
the one-week journey and general program overview. (C) Courses offered by the laboratories clustered according to four major areas.

FINAL COMMENTS Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and the sponsors:
Fundação Arthur Bernardes (FUNARBE), Pró Reitoria de Pesquisa
For all NEMA participants, planning SJM and teaching microbi-
e Pós-graduação (PPG) and Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da
ology is a rewarding experience. SJM has been an annual event
Saúde (CCB). Also, to all NEMA members who participated in the
eagerly awaited not only by NEMA members but also by the stu-
organization of the event.
dents. Since the first edition of the SJM, it has been a gateway for
graduate students in microbiology. It is common to find NEMA
members who previously participated in SJM. We consider SJM SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
an opportunity to promote science. Our main objective is to offer
Supplementary data are available at FEMSLE online.
quality teaching in microbiology and encourage young micro-
biologists to pursue a scientific career. We remain in constant Conflicts of interest. None declared
progress, open to learning and offer a unique experience at each
SJM. We encourage other groups to also have this experience.
REFERENCES
Prates Júnior P, Cerqueira AES, Veloso TGR et al. Núcleo de
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Estudos em Microbiologia Agrı́cola (NEMA): integração e
multiplicação de ações e conhecimentos. Revista ELO –
To the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, to the Graduate Program Diálogos Em Extensão. 2017; 6:3.
in Agricultural Microbiology, to the Department of Microbiol- Prates Júnior P, Silva M, Melo R et al. A Microbiologia No Con-
ogy, to Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nı́vel texto Da Agroecologia. Revista Brasileira De Extensão Univer-
Superior (CAPES), to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento sitária. 2018; 9:75.
Cientı́fico e Tecnológico (CNPq), to the Fundação de Amparo à