School of Biotechnology · Molecular biology
Essential Laboratory Skills for Life Scientists
Every experiment depends on a handful of basic skills performed accurately. This short, intensive course builds those skills at the bench, so that later techniques work the first time.
Course overview
Essential Laboratory Skills is the recommended first step before any Vedicgen bench course. You calibrate and check your own pipetting, prepare molar and percentage solutions and buffers, adjust pH, use centrifuges and balances correctly, and make reliable spectrophotometric measurements.
Safety, waste segregation, sterile technique and good documentation run through every session, and you finish with a laboratory notebook that meets the standard expected in research and industry.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Pipette accurately and verify your accuracy gravimetrically
- Calculate and prepare molar, percentage and serial-dilution solutions and buffers
- Calibrate a pH meter and adjust buffer pH
- Make and interpret spectrophotometric measurements, including standard curves
- Work safely and keep a complete laboratory notebook
Skills you will practise
Eligibility and prerequisites
Who can apply
- Students and graduates of B.Sc., M.Sc., B.Tech., M.Tech., B.Pharm., M.Pharm. or a PhD programme in biotechnology, microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, life sciences, pharmacy or allied health sciences
- Laboratory staff, research assistants and faculty who want structured bench training
- Participants must be 18 or older and follow the laboratory safety induction on day one
Prerequisites
- None
Best suited to
- First- and second-year biotechnology, microbiology and life-science students
- Graduates with limited practical exposure
- Anyone preparing for a research internship or laboratory job
Module-wise syllabus
5 modules, each with a bench practical performed by every participant.
Topics
- Personal protective equipment and hazard symbols
- Waste segregation and spill response
- Laboratory notebooks
Topics
- Micropipette selection and technique
- Balances and weighing
- Gravimetric accuracy checks
Topics
- Molarity, percentages and dilutions
- Buffer preparation
- pH meter calibration
Topics
- Beer–Lambert law
- Standard curves
- Centrifuge balancing and g-force
Topics
- Autoclaving and filtration
- Working at a biosafety cabinet
- Preparing sterile media
Practical sessions and projects
Practical assessment
Practical assessment
Prepare a specified buffer and standard curve independently and determine an unknown concentration, assessed for accuracy, technique and documentation.
Assessed on technique, accuracy, safety and the laboratory record. A pass is required for the certificate.
- Safety and documentation
Complete the safety induction and set up a laboratory notebook for the course.
- Measuring volumes and masses
Measure your pipetting accuracy and precision at three volumes and improve it.
- Solutions, buffers and pH
Prepare a Tris buffer and a serial dilution series and verify their concentrations.
- Spectrophotometry and centrifugation
Build a protein standard curve with a Bradford assay and determine an unknown concentration.
- Sterile technique
Prepare and pour sterile agar plates and check them for contamination.
Instruments, techniques and materials
Instruments and equipment
Techniques you will perform
- Gravimetric pipette checks
- Buffer and media preparation
- Bradford protein assay
- Standard curves
- Aseptic technique
Materials
- Analytical-grade reagents
- Bovine serum albumin standards
- Culture media
Core reading
- WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual, 4th edition. World Health Organization, 2020.
- Barker K. At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
Duration, format and fees
- Next cohort
- Dates are sent with your admission offer
- Timetable
- Weekdays, 9:30 to 16:30, at our laboratory
- Payment
- Secure online payment link with your admission offer (UPI, cards, net banking). Instalments on request for fees above ₹15,000.
- Refunds
- See the refund and cancellation policy.
Instructor
The instructor for each cohort is named in your admission offer and on this page when the cohort is announced. Vedicgen instructors are selected for hands-on laboratory experience in the subject they teach, and every course is reviewed by a second subject expert.
Questions about who teaches a cohort? [email protected]
Certificate
Learners who complete the course and pass its practical assessment receive a Vedicgen certificate of completion for Essential Laboratory Skills for Life Scientists, issued by Vivofold, stating the bench hours and techniques performed. Each certificate has a unique ID and QR code that anyone can check.
Apply for Essential Laboratory Skills for Life Scientists
Apply
Send the form below. It takes about five minutes.
Review
An adviser confirms your fit and format within two working days.
Offer
You receive dates, timetable and a secure payment link.
Onboard
Safety briefing, lab address and joining instructions.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Day one starts with a safety induction covering personal protective equipment, safe handling of reagents and biological material, spill response and waste segregation. All practicals use non-pathogenic material (Risk Group 1 organisms, established cell lines or synthetic templates) and are supervised throughout.
All reagents, kits, consumables, personal protective equipment, the lab manual and the certificate. Travel, accommodation and meals are not included. The laboratory address and joining instructions are sent with your admission letter.
Bench courses run in small groups so that every participant performs every practical personally, with an instructor-to-participant ratio that allows close supervision at the bench.
Yes. Learners who complete the course and pass its assessment receive a Vedicgen certificate of completion, issued by Vivofold. Every certificate carries a unique ID and a QR code that anyone, including an employer or admissions office, can check on the certificate verification page.
Apply with the form on this page. Live and in-person cohorts run through the year; the dates, timetable and joining details of the next cohort are sent with your admission offer and listed on this page once announced. Self-paced enrolment opens as soon as your application is accepted.
Yes. No course runs longer than four weeks, and the length is customisable: choose the standard schedule, an intensive one- to two-week schedule, weekends only, or a custom timetable. Pick your preference on the application form; colleges and teams can book their own dates.
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