DK: Agarplade (antibiotikaresistens). Foto:  Mikkel Adsbøl | EN: agar plate (antibiotic resistance). Photo:  Mikkel Adsbøl

Course on antimicrobial resistance taught in global classroom

Bacteria and microorganisms Food, fish and agriculture Food safety

Students from around the world can now attend a free online course to learn how bacteria develop resistance to antimicrobials and how to use the most common methods to test the bacteria. The course is offered via Coursera by the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. The institute has extensive experience in using methods to monitor, identify and control antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Through the National Food Institute’s role as European reference laboratory and as WHO collaboration center for antimicrobial resistance in foodborne disease-causing microorganisms the institute’s researchers have gained a great deal of experience in teaching methods to study the occurrence of resistance.

The researchers have now developed a free MOOC e-learning course so that more people can benefit from their knowledge. Students will learn the theory about how bacteria develop and spread resistance and they will be introduced to the most commonly used methods to test for resistance.

The course also includes instruction on various free online tools that can be used to analyze whole genome sequencing data in order to map the occurrence of resistance in the bacteria. In whole genome sequencing a disease-causing microorganism’s entire DNA profile is mapped simultaneously.

About the course

There is continuous enrollment on the five-week course, which is taught in English. The course is aimed at people with an interest in the field – e.g. undergraduate or graduate students, laboratory technicians, researchers and people working in the health or veterinary sectors.

Teaching takes place via an interactive textbook, which contains videos, quizzes and assignments. During the course students will have the opportunity to meet in an online study group.

Students should expect to spend one to two hours a week on their studies. People who complete the course are able to receive a course certificate for a US$50 fee.

Read more

The course is offered through Coursera, which is an international provider of free e-learning courses. Read the course description on Coursera’s website: Antimicrobial resistance - theory and methods.

More information about antimicrobial resistance and the research which is carried out at the National Food Institute in order to increase our knowledge about resistant bacteria and to help combat resistance can be found on the institute’s special topic portal on antimicrobial resistance.