ISSUES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY TEACHING - Encouraging generic skills in science courses

Generic skills are skills that are common to all graduates rather than specific for a particular field of study. They include communication and problem-solving skills and the ability to work successfully in teams. To produce graduates with these skills, university courses must include exercises that encourage development of these skills and assessment procedures which reward achievement in these areas. This paper describes three simple exercises designed to develop generic skills that can easily be incorporated into existing courses.