Content

Part 1: (lecturer: E. Matthijs)

• Introduction

o What is biotechnology?

o How has biotechnology evolved?

o Who are the key actors influencing the development of biotechnology?

• Development and implementation of biotechnology innovations

o How are biotechnology innovations developed?

o Who are the key players?

o What is the role of the government?

o How are innovations transferred to its users, e.g., the farmers?

o What problems of intellectual property rights arise?

o How can these problems be solved?

• Welfare effects of biotechnology applications: the case of agriculture

o How can the economic impact of biotechnology on multinationals, farmers, distributors and consumers be estimated?

o How are the benefits of biotechnology distributed among these actors?

o How can the environmental impact of biotechnology be accounted?

• Acceptance by consumers and citizens

o What is the attitude of consumers towards biotechnology?

o What are the factors explaining differences in attitudes, for example between the EU and the USA?

o What other factors influence the acceptance of biotechnology by society?

o How do governments react?

• Biotechnology in developing countries

o How are development, implementation and welfare effects of biotechnology different in developing countries compared to industrialized countries?

o What is the role of institutions ?

Part 2: (lecturer: E. Torreele – DNDi “Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative”)

• Biotech revolution / knowledge economy

o (R)evolution?

o Consequences for research: public and private sector research policies;

o The neglected diseases example.

• Intellectual property (IP) rights

o Introduction: what are patents?

o Consequences for R&D;

o Reconciling IP with development policy.

• Role of the scientific community? An ethical perspective: Patent or perish?

o An alternative model?

o Open Source Research.

Paper: students (groups of 3) to choose paper from selected readings, prepare presentation of key issues for rest of group + critical analysis/debate.

Part 3: (lecturer: N. Terryn)

• Non target effects of GMOs: the Monarch story.

• GMOs and food safety, food allergy.

• Environmental considerations of GMO’s

• GMOs and the society.

Part 4: (lecturer: E. Van Driessche)

• Project Cycling Management methodology and its application in writing projects.

Course material

Supporting books:

• Bainbridge, D. (1999) Intellectual property (4th ed.), Pitman Publ.

• Russo, E., Cove, D. (1998) Genetic engineering: dreams and nightmares, Oxford Univ. Press

• Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen (2002) Seminars on sustainable agriculture in the third world: defining a role for transgenic crops and research.

Complementary study material: Appropriate literature and references are provided during the lectures. From some parts of the course, powerpoint presentations used during the lectures are available on CD.