Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Algae by University of California San Diego

An exceptional introduction I must say. I am an BS Aquaculture from URI and an oyster hatchery manager and was more than satisfied with the curriculum and the expertise of the speakers. I would greatly encourage a follow-up course.

This is extremely knowledgeable course to me as i'm Biotechnology undergraduate student and wants to gain information about my project that is about algae so it'll be helpful to me in my project and also the material used in lectures is too good and the teachers are also superb thanks all of you to give me chance to learn and apply and thankx Coursera for amazing site for studious student who wants to learn in a peaceful environment so thankyou once again...

one of the best course to know everything about algae. I recommend all people who decided to work on algae pass this course. I learnt about different aspects of algae and seaweed. thanks Coursera.

A good course however, it has a beginner level rather than an intermediate one

I'm the lover of algae, Hence I took this course which gives more insights to know about starting from lifecycle to product development...…which is same like as our child birth in humans....I enjoyed and I'm feeling more passion to undergo this course. I strongly recommend all to take this course....don't miss this awesome oppturnity to know about the most abundant resource which available surrounding us....

Last but not least..by taking this course I'm having more insights to become entrepreneur and developing products from algae. Thanks to UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Professors ..

Looking forward more advanced form of course related to algae. Thank you...

I kindly request the team to post the answer for below question. II need answer for one of the quiz which I feel very bad not to answer. the question was

What is the energy source that phototrophic organism used to create food?

Great coruse, very professional and charismatic teachers. The first three weeks were awesome but the last two were a little bit boring. It's agreat course for anyone interested in algae as an industrial organism

Muy bien explicado, pienso que te da un panorama bien definido sobre el cultivo de algas (con mayor enfásis en microalgas) y las diferentes etapas que se tienen. Un gusto llevar este curso.

An excellent detail introduction covering the details of algae

evolution, algae bio- chemistries & structures, algae cultivation, harvesting, producer methods, products and applications.

I wish there was an option that I could see the captions (the sentences that the speaker spoke) during the presentations like watching TV with the CC is on... Just a suggestion.

I am Ph.D. in algae biotechnology and I have a good experience in cultivation, dewatering, harvesting of algae biomass along with biofuel production of algae, but this course has really helped to understand the novel updates in the field of algal biotechnology, especially the harvesting and production of polyurethane, etc. I would really recommend this course to all the students of bioprocess technology, botany, biotechnology, and chemistry students. The information and knowledge are really helping to understand key nuisances in the whole process and develop a through concept. I am happy to complete the course. Thanks for the whole team of UC San Diego and Coursera for such amazing work.

Very interesting and inspiring course! So cool to learn about the history and great diversity of algae, as well as the potential uses of algae in renewable energy and for sustainable materials.

first, thank you so much for all professors and assistants. it is really amazing I like it so much. plz update and focus more on algal biotechnology and genetic engineering for this field.

It was an interesting (and generally in-depth) introductory course. Recommended to take good notes!

One downside of the course -- there are a few times, when the lecturers do not really explain things well enough (Ex: there was a lecturer who did not explain how a "Zobi Harvester" worked in-depth; And because he was a leader of the company that invented the "Zobi Harvester", it seemed as if he was merely turning that specific Coursera lecture into an advertisement!)

T​he lectures are, ironically, very dry. Most of them could have just provided the powerpoint instead of the video. I wanted to learn more about the biology and natural ecology of algae, but those parts seemed rushed. The course might have been less disappointing if it was more clearly labeled as an introduction to algae-based industry, because that is the emphasis. This course isn't fun. There's none of the wonder or excitement that I associate with science, especially biology. It's biology as a means to an end (and that end is just boring Products). I'm giving this course two stars because it wasn't overtly offensive, I did learn a couple things, and I did finish it. But I only finished it because it was so short.

Not what I had expected- I was looking for biological algae intro, and this was an industrial application of algae course. Interesting I guess, but not what I was wanting.

Excelente curso, lo tome ya que estoy en un proyecto de NSF en donde tenemos un laboratorio de algas. Resume muy bien los temas generales de las algas, y tiene un contenido muy instructivo y beneficioso para cualquiera que este comenzando o ya tenga conocimiento de algas. El nivel de dificultad es intermedio, solo necesitas saber un poco de biología y la célula para entender todo a la perfección. Me encanto el curso. Los profesores son de excelente calidad, recursos muy reconocidos en el tema de las algas.

Kariana Feliciano

Research LabTech NSF Proposal, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Barranquitas Campus. Marine Biotechnology Laboratory

The course was a fantastic introduction to algae, covering the basic biology, ecology to commercial applications ! Highly recommended as an eye-opener for those, like me, who want to contribute to creating a much more sustainable world for our future generations. The course should be not be viewed just at academic "face value", but as a starting point on what game-changing biotechnologies can do to change our vision, attitudes and mission for the planet. As a global business consultant, it has motivated me even more to promote green-tech/ clean-tech.

Many thanks to UC San Diego and everyone involved for your inspiration !

Maroi Shoji

Through this course, I was able to learn the fundamentals of algae. The lessons and presentations helped me fully understand the importance of algae, not just in the industry but also to the environment. The knowledge I have acquired from this course will have a huge impact to me as a chemical engineering student. Now, I am more interested in landing a future job in bioengineering, utilizing microbes specifically algae for the sustainable production of energy, food, and biomedicine.

I recommend this course to anyone who is embarking to research algae. This course was of big help to understand the important theoretical points when it comes to cultivate algae. The syllabus is very complete. I grew algae for a semester for a University course and this course gave me the tools (knowledge) that I needed to completely understand my research.

Thank you very Much to all the speakers and I am looking forward to deepen myself in Algae Biotechnology.

La metodología de aprendizaje en el curso fue didáctica se a bordaron los temas de manera gráfica y teórica lo cual facilito el aprendizaje del contenido expuesto ,se abordaron temáticas importantes en el cultivo de macro y micro-algas como taxonomía, características de los organismos,ecología ,fertilización ,técnicas de cosecha ,extracción de lípidos, usos comerciales de la biomasa , sistemas de producción,entre otros aspectos de gran relevancia.

I very much enjoyed the course. The videos were quite short and so completing them did not feel like a big task. The amount of work was also generously spaced over the course of five weeks... given the amount of content (which was suprisingly less dense than expected).

I would have enjoyed learning a bit more in depth, or perhaps if an advanced course could be given into algae I would very much enjoy further studying the subject.

Great introductory course to algae covering a diverse range of topics such as biology (e.g. different species, evolutionary history), cultivation (e.g. pests/predator management systems, overview of raceway ponds and photobioreactors), harvesting (thickening and dewatering process equipment), processing (biofuels, bioplastics) and more. A solid foundation for future learning.

This is a very informative, compact, summary course on algae. After finishing the course, you will have a thought map on algae from biological aspect to chemical engineering aspect. This is a really simple course, just to ease you in on the subject and you can move onto detailed researches on sub-subjects of algae with a greater understanding.

really want to meet all you guys, I really, really want to go to UCSD for algae biotech. I love the work of Brian Von Herzmon and professor Mayfield. Your work with the malaria vaccine and alginesis materials inspires me greatly and I want to make myself useful!

Thank you so much for offering these courses.

Really in depth but simple to understand. I was not familiar with algae and after this it seems like something that I would like to pursue in a farm setting so Ia appreciate all the basics but again it was really in depth enough that i felt like I got my moneys and most importantly my times worth.