Science Faculty

Material Resources and Infrastructure

Science Faculty has a modern and adequate infrastructure for teaching high-quality Degrees and Masters.

• CLASSROOMS

Currently, there are managed by the Science Faculty: 43 classrooms with a capacity of more than 70 places; 18 classrooms with a capacity between 50 and 70 places; 14 classrooms with a capacity between 25 and 50 places; and 8 classrooms with a capacity of 25 places, which are specially designed for working with small groups in workshops, seminars, etc.

All of them are equipped with the necessary audiovisual media (public address system, projectors, computers ...) and they also have Internet connection by wireless and high-speed cable. 

Classrooms distribution is carried out one academic course in advance, according to the expected needs by degrees Professors Commission. Regularly, small improvement works are made in order to adapt classrooms to needs of the moment, guaranteeing an adequate and sufficient teaching space for addressing lessons.

• TEACHING LABORATORIES AND EQUIPMENT

In Science Faculty degrees, practical training has always had an extraordinary importance. Thus, one of the traditionally employed teaching modalities has been problems-based learning; most of them are posed and solved at the laboratory, increasing in complexity and realism as students’ knowledge and practical skills increase. For this reason, there are currently a total amount of 67 teaching laboratories of different capacity. All laboratories are excellently equipped, allowing a quality learning practice.

Each teaching laboratory has a technical staff assigned (in addition to placement coordinator professors) that is responsible for proper equipment maintenance and replacement. They are in charge of ensuring its proper operation and repairing them or coordinating and supervising its repair/substitution, according to commercial companies. Furthermore, UAM offers Servicios Generales de Apoyo a la Investigación (SEGAINVEX) [General Services for Research Support] which also collaborate, as far as possible, in learning material replacement. Almost an academic course in advance, the estimated cost of consumables and non-expendable materials is made in order to ensure a quality learning practice.

• STUDY ROOMS

Science Faculty also has a total amount of 12 small rooms specially designed for students’ study and group work. Their total capacity is of 82 places and all of them have board and wireless connection. 

• COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid offers a range of Communications Technology services. Their main function is providing technical support to university community for technological innovation and management in several areas, like teaching, administrative management, communication infrastructure and computing support services. These functions are established according to universal accessibility principles. You will find the services catalogue at http://www.uam.es/servicios/ti/servicios/, being noted the following: free training courses, electronic mail and wireless network, also a laptop loan service.

Since they are enrolled, all UAM students have their electronic mail and free access to wireless network and UAM Campus “Computer Rooms”. These rooms provide computers with ADSL connection and also with the required software for carrying out practices and projects from different subjects.

UAM has computer rooms in each centre with more than 900 personal computers. At the Science Faculty, there are 320 places, 120 in the Biologics Building and 200 in the general Sciences building. Equipment control and maintenance is carried out centrally by the Communications Technology Service. In order to guarantee the resources availability, there is a permanent reservations system via Internet. Furthermore, in these spaces, there are software and programs adapted to the educational needs of each Syllabus.

UAM provides an on-line teaching system (Moodle platform). With this tool, professors and students share materials for teaching and learning development.

• LIBRARIES AND NEWSPAPER LIBRARY

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid has a large number of library collections. They are made up of 952,000 books; more than 131,500 e-books; 30,000 maps; 85,000 magazines with 62,000 electronic subscriptions; and more than 200 data bases. Furthermore, it offers almost 4,500 reading places from 9.00 a.m. to 20.30. p.m. and it also has a 24-hours Study Room, open every day of the year. 

In 2004, the Quality Certification of the Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación (ANECA) (Assessment and Accreditation National Agency) was obtained. Currently, the Library and Archive Service is working for obtaining the European Seal of Excellence 300+ from the Club Excelencia en Gestión and European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). [INFORMATION ABOUT Library and Quality at: http://biblioteca.uam.es/sc/biblioteca_y_calidad.html].

You can find all information about the Library in Annual Reports submitted to Government Council for almost 15 years at:  http://biblioteca.uam.es/sc/memoria.html.

The UAM main services offered by the Library are: Automated catalogue, Home lending, Users training, Bibliographic information, On-line reservations and lending renewals, Return boxes, Intercampus loan, Institutional repository, Dialnet, Phone Assistance Service BiblosCom [914 972 800], Automate acquisitions, Laptops loans, Electronic resources meta search, Remote access to our resources (with VPN), User virtual assistance system [QUID http://biblioteca.uam.es/sc/quid.html].

Science Faculty students will find most of the necessary information for their studies development at the UAM Science Library. 

This Library is located in its own building of 8,700 square meters of surface. It provides about 112,000 monographs; 2,125 electronic books; more than 3,500 CD-ROMs, DVDs and maps; and 8,200 unpublished books (doctoral thesis, End-of-Degree projects, dissertations …). Subscribed magazine collection on paper has been substituted almost completely by electronic subscriptions, providing more than 13,500 electronic magazines from different Science areas, as well as a large number of specialized Databases. Currently, it is served by 16 Librarians and 1 Administrative, collaborating 11 Graduated students and 2 Posgraduated Students.

This library is equipped with the following infrastructures and services:

- 2 reading rooms with free access to bibliography and 637 reading places.
- 10 group work rooms with 60 places and 1 Research room.
- "Sala Buho" (Biblioteca Universitaria de Horario Optimizado) The only 24h-Room at Comunidad de Madrid, opened 24 h per day and 365 days per year with 290 study places.
- CDEN (Centro de Documentación de Espacios Naturales) (Natural Areas Documentation Centre) with an important collection concerning Natural Areas management and 18 reading places.
- 27 computerised terminals for accessing to data bases and electronic magazines, WIFI Wireless connection for laptops Internet connection.
- 35 laptops and netbooks for loan, all equipped with learning software
- Auto-lending machine that allows users to loan Library books by a self-service system.
- A newspaper library by 2 Reading rooms and 213 reading places.
- 304 lockers for lending.
- Books return boxes at the Science Faculty hall and 24h-Room.
- An adapted place for individuals with visual and moving disability.
- Great offer of Training Courses for users concerning Library resources.
- Multimedia room with 20 computers for training users.

Every year the Library organizes physical and virtual thematic exhibitions, most of them in collaboration with Faculty members and regarding Science relevant issues:

- At the website you will find complete information about resources and services. You will also find news information through the website and blog.

Any user can request to buy bibliographic material, after that a library commission assess the application and, if appropriate, it manages the purchase. This way, based on budgetary possibilities, it is possible to offer up-to-date bibliographic resources.

• FURTHER RESOURCESOTROS RECURSOS

On the other hand, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid offers relevant resources to university community, both for its staff and students:

Unidad de Recursos Audiovisuales y Multimedia (URAM)(Audiovisual and Multimedia Resources Unit)
UAM Unidad de Recursos Audiovisuales y Multimedia is a support centre for teaching and research concerning audiovisual and multimedia contents and technologies that are available for all the university community. URAM offers the following services:

-Media library: it offers an audiovisual and multimedia collection composed of more than 4,000 titles in different formats and of various genres and areas. It also has magazines, books and specialized reference works.

-Multimedia room: teaching room with 20 computers for lessons requiring use of communications technology and/or specific software and other multimedia resources.

-Videoconference room for teaching activities, cultural events and research meetings with capacity for 40 people. It has complete audiovisual equipment for presentations and videoconference emission and reception system for telephone and network connection.

-Other services: Audiovisual programs recording and edition with teaching and research aims, Audiovisual equipment lending and Conversions of formats and colour standards, materials digitalisation.

Servicio Interdepartamental de Investigación (SIDI)(Research Interdepartmental Service)
Service structured in laboratories with several analytical techniques that support research carried out at UAM, especially at the Science Faculty where is located the majority of this service. Among other, there are so important techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, Gases/Masses Chromatography, ICP, Elementary Analysis, etc.

Segainvex
The main objectives of this service are supplying technical support and carrying out the construction of necessary prototypes for teaching and research tasks. It consists of the following sections: technical and electronic office, glass and quartz, welding, mechanics and cryogenics.

Centro de computación científica (CCC)(Scientific Computing Centre)
Centre which main objective consists in offering and managing computer resources for research. It has multiprocessor servers for carrying out high performance scientific calculations, accessed by users through Internet. Furthermore, the CCC has a simulation laboratory where are carried out courses for third-year students or equivalents, through its reservation by the responsible professor. The Centre also offers a Library service, as well as different complementary services (service for large format printing, compact disc recording and digitalization), and it organizes seminars and courses about issues concerning its activities (Linux, parallel programming, techniques for visual data analysis, etc.).