Proposal for Generic Biomedical Engineering Programs Based on European Experience

One of the major objectives of the TEMPUS IV CRH-BME Joint Project is to propose an updated vision of study programs and curricula in the field of biomedical engineering (BME) in Europe. The project emerged as a response to ever increasing and changing demands of the health care sector and industry for education of flexible and competent biomedical engineers on one side and rapidly emerging new technologies and interdisciplinary application domains for BME on the other side. The proposition for curricula reformation and harmonisation presented in this paper is based on identification of five types of BME programs covering 1st and 2nd cycle education and on definition of seven core BME topics. The adoption of the proposed structure of generic BME study programs and of the generic BME curriculum will contribute to harmonisation of BME studies and to increased student and teaching staff exchange across Europe, thus promoting the creation of the European Higher Education Area.