NEW AT GROUP T LEUVEN CAMPUS - ADVANCED MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATIVE HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

CAMPUS NEWS

Alvin Toffler, a 20th century philosopher and author of the novel ‘Future Shock’ once said: “As we move into the 21st century, not only will technology advance, but the rate at which technology advances will increase exponentially”. The technological advances with greatest relevance to the future and welfare of society involve science and healthcare. With the new Advanced Master’s Programme in Innovative Health Technology, Group T Leuven Campus responds to the latest scientific and technological developments in this rapidly evolving domain.

The development of novel technologies has always been a big enabler in health care. Medical doctors, therapists and other health care providers make use of these technologies to identify symptoms, to perform diagnoses, to carry out surgery, to cure diseases, to enable therapy and to follow up patients. Many companies worldwide develop novel technologies to improve health care even further. The Advanced Master in Innovative Health Technology aims to contribute to this evolution by offering students the opportunity to specialize in the domain of innovative health care technologies. They will learn to design, develop and implement practical and pragmatic technological solutions. Specific for the programme is the focus on the integration of different technologies and methodologies into usable systems. Recent trends in domains such as electrical and electronics engineering, mathematical engineering, mechanical and biochemical engineering will be combined to inspire students to conceive and implement novel integrated solutions that can be tested and used by patients and health care professionals.

Prof. Liz Jones, Prof. Bart Vanrumste

Prof. Luc Geurts, Prof. Vero Vanden Abeele, Luc Janssens and Prof. Manu Vander Poorten

International programme

The Advanced Master of Science in Innovative Health Technology is a one-year programme (60 ICTS) aimed at students who have completed a master’s programme in (bio)engineering or equivalent. It consists of eight course units: six courses focusing on engineering technology, entrepreneurship as well as on topics related to the human body, one team-based projects and finally a master’s thesis and an internship. Characteristic of the programme is its international dimension, benefitting from the international network of Group T Leuven campus. This network includes universities, high-tech companies and internationally renowned institutions such as the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (imec) and the University Hospitals Leuven.

Career perspectives

Recent scientific and technological advancements in healthcare have created numerous new functions and job opportunities in medical technology companies, health care institutes, hospitals and research centres. These include e.g. patient identity management, health care mobility and business intelligence, applied medical research, designing, developing and testing of prototypes and installations and configuration of medical instruments. In the field of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), there is an increasing demand for experts providing policy-makers with evidence-based information about the medical, economic, organizational, social and ethical issues related to the use of health technology.

For more details, consult: www.fet.kuleuven.be/groupt

Yves Persoons