Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

The main aim of the master's degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is to develop an understanding of the fundamental structure of matter, in order to control its behaviour at the nanometric scale, and to use this knowledge to design and develop new products and systems that could have a major bearing on a wide range of areas of special socioeconomic significance, for example:

• Medicine and pharmacy
  
• Food and industrial agriculture
  
• Aerospace industry
  
• Information technology and communications
  
• Energy and the environment

These are fields in which interdisciplinary postgraduate training is essential, to meet the increasing demand for research and for professionals with experience in nanotechnology.

The aim of the master's degree is to train competent professionals in this field, in industrial and scientific aspects. Therefore, students who join the course should be versatile enough to speak about disciplines as diverse as biology, physics, chemistry or engineering, and must be capable of acting as a link between professionals who work in one of these areas specifically.

Basic competences:

• Knowledge forming the basis of original thinking in the development or application of ideas, typically in a research context.
  
• Capacity to apply the acquired knowledge to problem-solving in new or relatively unknown environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the specific field of study.
  
• Capacity to integrate knowledge and tackle the complexity of formulating judgements based on incomplete or limited information, taking due consideration of the social and ethical responsibilities involved in applying knowledge and making judgements.
  
• Capacity to communicate knowledge and conclusions and the grounds on which they have been reached to specialist and non-specialist audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner.
  
• Skills to enable lifelong self-directed and independent learning.

General competences:

• Capacity to identify the scientific and industrial situation at national and international level in relation to nanoscience and nanotechnology.
  
• Ability to participate in research or technology development projects.
  
• Ability to work independently, manage time and projects effectively, and gain the specific knowledge required to access doctoral programmes on nanoscience and nanotechnology.
  
• Initiative to develop innovative work methods that can contribute to the scientific or technological development of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Specific competences:

• Capacity to recognize the technological advances and current problems in nanotechnology as an interdisciplinary science.
  
• Capacity to carry out a technical task in the area of nanotechnology.
  
• Capacity to use calculation tools and theoretical models to advance understanding of properties or basic phenomena, and the capacity to model and predict the behaviour of nanosystems.
  
• Capacity to design a synthesis protocol and processing stages in the manufacturing of nanostructured materials.
  
• Capacity to apply microscopy techniques to nanoscale characterization.
  
• Capacity to handle the basic tools of nanomanufacturing and nanomanipulation.
  
• Capacity to carry out research and development of new nanostructured materials and nanodevices with innovative functionalities and applications in biotechnology, pharmacotherapy, the treatment and storage of information, and improved energy use.
  
• Abilities and skills in the field of nanotechnology to establish future areas of research, development and production in companies associated with the field.