Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
This master's prepares you to turn ocean biological resources into real products along the whole blue biotech value chain. You will learn to sample and preserve marine organisms, run biobanks and strain collections, use genomics, proteomics and metabolomics to find bioactive compounds, and master the culturing, fermentation, extraction and scale-up processes that bring them to pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food, aquaculture and materials markets, always with sustainability, traceability and regulatory compliance in mind.
Prior knowledge check
These are the skills this program gives you. Tick the ones you already master and we will tell you which part of the syllabus is for you.
You are starting from scratch in this subject. The program is designed precisely for that.
What is the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources?
This master's covers marine biotechnology from resource to market. You will study marine ecosystems and the organisms of interest, from bacteria and archaea to micro- and macroalgae and invertebrates; sampling campaigns, biobanks, strain collections and FAIR data management; marine microbiology, enzymes, biofilms and bioremediation; metagenomics, metabolomics, strain genomics and reproducible bioinformatics pipelines; bioprospecting, bioassays, dereplication and hit-to-lead optimization; fermentation, photobioreactors, downstream processing, process economics and scale-up; algae biotechnology and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture; aquaculture health, nutrition and biosecurity; marine biopolymers, biomaterials and by-product valorization; and the Nagoya Protocol, the BBNJ Agreement, patents, product regulation and technology transfer.
What sets this master's apart: rather than focusing on discovery alone, it follows the entire industrial value chain, from the biobank and the bioreactor to quality control, cost per kilogram and supply chain; it gives algae, aquaculture and circular biomaterials modules of their own; it treats intellectual property, access and benefit-sharing rules and product regulation as part of every project; and it closes with a Final Project in which you take a marine bioproduct from candidate resource to technical dossier, scale-up economics and implementation roadmap.
Program highlights
- The blue biotech value chain: from ocean biological resource to ingredient, biomaterial or drug candidate.
- Sampling, biobanks and strain collections with traceability, QA/QC, chain of custody and FAIR data.
- Marine microbiology and omics: enzymes, secondary metabolites, metagenomics, strain genomics and bioinformatics.
- Bioprocesses: fermentation, photobioreactors, downstream processing, process economics and industrial scale-up.
- Algae, aquaculture biotechnology, marine biopolymers and circular valorization of by-products.
- Nagoya Protocol, BBNJ Agreement, patents, product regulation and technology transfer.
Syllabus of the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
11 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Foundations of marine biotechnology and the ecology of ocean resources
- 1.1. Overview of marine biotechnology: applications, sectors and the blue biotech value chain
- 1.2. Marine ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots: implications for bioprospecting
- 1.3. Main biological groups of interest: bacteria, archaea, microalgae, macroalgae and invertebrates
- 1.4. Adaptations to the marine environment and their biotechnological value: salinity, pressure, temperature and UV
- 1.5. Concepts of the blue bioeconomy: sustainability, traceability and scalability
- 1.6. Data quality and reproducibility: sampling, metadata and bias control
- 1.7. Introduction to the chemistry of marine natural products: classes and functions
- 1.8. Valorization routes: from biological resource to ingredient, biomaterial or drug
- 1.9. Risks and ethics: environmental impact, access to resources and equity
- 1.10. Designing a project pipeline: objective, resource, method, validation and product
Sampling, biobanks and management of marine biological resources
- 2.1. Sampling strategies by habitat: coastal, pelagic, deep sea and estuaries
- 2.2. Campaign design: logistics, contamination control and sample preservation
- 2.3. Preservation protocols: cryopreservation, DNA and RNA stabilization and fixation
- 2.4. Marine biobanks: traceability, coding, QA/QC and chain of custody
- 2.5. Isolation and culturing techniques for difficult microorganisms and microalgae
- 2.6. Strain collections: authentication, purity and maintenance criteria
- 2.7. Environmental metadata: oceanographic variables and their integration with results
- 2.8. FAIR data management: repositories, standards and governance
- 2.9. Assessing the impact of sampling: minimization and good practice
- 2.10. Applied biobank plan: operational design and documentation
Marine microbiology and microbial biotechnology
- 3.1. Marine microbial ecology: communities, niches and functions
- 3.2. Extremophile microorganisms and their value for enzymes and metabolites
- 3.3. Traditional culturing versus culturomics: expanding cultivable diversity
- 3.4. Production of secondary metabolites: triggers, stress and co-culture
- 3.5. Marine enzymes: lipases, proteases, cellulases and chitinases and their stability to salt and temperature
- 3.6. Biofilms and bioadhesives: biological basis and applications
- 3.7. Marine bioremediation of hydrocarbons, metals, nutrients and microplastics
- 3.8. Strain engineering and optimization: conventional strategies and productivity control
- 3.9. Microbial biosensors for environmental detection and process control
- 3.10. Applied case: strain selection and industrial valorization route
Marine omics and applied bioinformatics
- 4.1. Metagenomics: design, assembly, annotation and biases
- 4.2. Metatranscriptomics and proteomics: when they add value and how to interpret them
- 4.3. Marine metabolomics: chemical profiles and biomarkers
- 4.4. Strain genomics: identification, biosynthetic gene clusters and bioproductive potential
- 4.5. Diversity analysis: alpha and beta diversity, networks and functional ecology
- 4.6. Data-driven discovery: prioritizing candidates with omics
- 4.7. Multi-omics integration: hypotheses, causality and experimental validation
- 4.8. Reproducible pipelines: version control, notebooks and documentation
- 4.9. Interpretation for R&D: from bioinformatics results to laboratory decisions
- 4.10. Bioinformatics lab: complete workflow and technical report
Bioprospecting and discovery of bioactive compounds
- 5.1. Bioprospecting strategies driven by taxonomy, ecology, omics or phenotype
- 5.2. Extract preparation: polarity, fractionation and degradation control
- 5.3. Bioassays: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity, antioxidant and enzymatic
- 5.4. Dereplication to avoid rediscovery and speed up selection
- 5.5. Isolation and purification: chromatography, purity criteria and yields
- 5.6. Structure elucidation: fundamentals and reading results
- 5.7. Hit-to-lead optimization: potency, selectivity and stability
- 5.8. Safety assessment: toxicity, allergenicity and preliminary profiles
- 5.9. Scaling up supply: culturing, semi-synthetic routes or sustainable alternatives
- 5.10. Candidate dossier: evidence, traceability and development plan
Marine bioprocesses: fermentation, extraction and industrial scale-up
- 6.1. Bioprocess design: upstream versus downstream and productivity KPIs
- 6.2. Fermentation under marine conditions: salinity, aeration, control and contamination
- 6.3. Microalgae cultivation: photobioreactors, raceways, harvesting and stability
- 6.4. Critical parameters: pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, light, temperature and foam
- 6.5. Process intensification: fed-batch, perfusion and co-culture
- 6.6. Downstream processing: extraction, clarification, filtration, drying and formulation
- 6.7. Process economics: mass balances, yields, energy and cost per kilogram
- 6.8. Quality control: specifications, impurities, traceability and documentation
- 6.9. Scale-up from laboratory to pilot and industrial plant: transfer risks
- 6.10. Plant and operation design: conceptual layout and validation plan
Biotechnology of algae and marine plant resources
- 7.1. Macroalgae: biology, cultivation and supply chains
- 7.2. Microalgae: strain selection, productivity and robustness
- 7.3. Biomolecules of interest: pigments, lipids, proteins, polysaccharides and functional compounds
- 7.4. Applications in nutraceuticals, cosmetics, food, fertilizers and materials
- 7.5. Biomass processing: stabilization, green extraction and fractionation
- 7.6. Quality and safety: contaminants, metals and standardization criteria
- 7.7. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA): synergies and sustainability
- 7.8. Certification and claims: typical requirements for ingredients and products
- 7.9. Product design: formulation, stability and shelf life
- 7.10. Applied case: an algae ingredient with a technical and commercial plan
Biotechnology in aquaculture, health and reproduction
- 8.1. Foundations of modern aquaculture: species, systems and risks
- 8.2. Functional nutrition: marine ingredients, digestibility and performance
- 8.3. Probiotics and the microbiome for health and performance
- 8.4. Diagnosis and surveillance: detection methods and health control
- 8.5. Vaccines and biotechnological tools: applications and limitations
- 8.6. Applied genetics: selection, traceability and productive improvement
- 8.7. Animal welfare and biosecurity: procedures and audits
- 8.8. Antimicrobial resistance: prevention and responsible use
- 8.9. Environmental impact: effluents, escapes and mitigation
- 8.10. Intervention plan: health and productivity improvement with metrics
Marine bioproducts, biomaterials and circularity
- 9.1. Marine biopolymers: alginates, carrageenans, chitin and chitosan
- 9.2. Hydrogels and matrices: encapsulation, controlled release and applications
- 9.3. Marine adhesives and coatings: bioinspired antifouling
- 9.4. By-product valorization: fishery waste, shells, collagen and gelatin
- 9.5. Circular economy: design for recycling and footprint reduction
- 9.6. Sustainability assessment: conceptual LCA, carbon and water footprint
- 9.7. Quality standards: specifications, contaminants and batch consistency
- 9.8. Scale-up and supply chain: supply stability and risks
- 9.9. Market strategy: differentiation, claims and scientific evidence
- 9.10. Applied case: a marine biomaterial with a roadmap
Intellectual property, regulation and technology transfer in marine biotechnology
- 10.1. The Nagoya Protocol and access to genetic resources
- 10.2. The BBNJ Agreement and marine genetic resources
- 10.3. Biotechnology patents
- 10.4. Regulation of food, nutraceuticals and cosmetics
- 10.5. Authorization of medicines of marine origin
- 10.6. Biosafety and modified organisms
- 10.7. Technology transfer and spin-offs
- 10.8. Funding R&D in blue biotechnology
- 10.9. Markets for marine biotechnology products
- 10.10. Valorization plan for a bioproduct
Final Project
- 11.1. Choosing the challenge: problem, target market and candidate biological resource
- 11.2. Sampling and biobank plan: origin, traceability, permits, preservation and QA/QC
- 11.3. Discovery strategy: omics, bioprospecting, assays and prioritization criteria
- 11.4. Experimental validation: assay design, controls, reproducibility and robustness
- 11.5. Process route: cultivation or production, extraction, purification and specifications
- 11.6. Safety and quality assessment: risks, limits, stability and analytical plan
- 11.7. Scale-up and economics: pilot, yields, CAPEX and OPEX, target cost and technical risks
- 11.8. Compliance and IP: intellectual property strategy, documentation and traceability
- 11.9. Sustainability plan: impact, circularity, supply and waste management
- 11.10. Delivery and defense: complete technical dossier, results, roadmap and implementation proposal
Duration and format of the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
It is 1,500 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
Career opportunities after the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
Questions about the Master's in Marine Biotechnology and Ocean Bioresources
It covers the whole value chain: besides discovery, it goes deep into biobanks, bioprocess engineering, process economics and scale-up, algae and aquaculture biotechnology, circular biomaterials and the regulatory and IP framework needed to reach the market.
The marine biotechnology sector in a broad sense: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and nutraceuticals, aquaculture, biomaterials and environmental biotechnology, as well as research centers and marine resource management.
Yes. A full module covers metagenomics, metabolomics, strain genomics, multi-omics integration and reproducible pipelines, always oriented to decisions in the laboratory.
Yes. It studies the Nagoya Protocol, the BBNJ Agreement, biotechnology patents, the regulation of food, cosmetics and medicines of marine origin, biosafety and technology transfer.
It helps, but a scientific background in biology, chemistry, biotechnology or a related field is enough; the first modules lay the foundations, and the admission interview confirms that the program suits your profile.
Through applied cases in each module, such as a biobank plan, a bioinformatics workflow or an algae ingredient plan, and a Final Project in which you develop and defend a complete technical dossier for a marine bioproduct.
A master's issued by Navalis Institute, together with the dossiers, plans and analyses you develop during the program.
Fully online, through a virtual campus available 24/7 with live sessions that are recorded, forums and tutorials. It comprises 1500 hours of study across 11 modules of about 136 hours each.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at marine biologists and biotechnologists, chemical and environmental engineers, professionals in the food and pharmaceutical industries, marine resource managers and environmental policy officers, and graduates in marine sciences, biology, chemistry or related fields. A degree in biology, marine sciences, biotechnology, chemistry, environmental sciences or a related field is recommended; knowledge of marine biology, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics and statistics is an advantage.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a camera and microphone, a stable internet connection and videoconferencing software such as Zoom or Teams.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.