Biomedical Engineering – (M.Sc.)

The Engineering faculties of the Universiteit Gent and Vrije Universiteit Brussel organize the interuniversitary Master of Biomedical Engineering and this in a close collaboration with the Medical faculties of both universities. As a result of recent evolutions towards internationalization, we also offer, from the academic year 2010-2011 on, a complete English master program in biomedical engineering. Both the Dutch and English master are two-year programs and lead to a joint degree from UGent and VUB. Students study either in Ghent or in Brussels upon their own choice.

Tackle complex problems in biology, medicine and health sciences

Biomedical Engineering is a branch of Engineering where students acquire knowledge and skills which can be applied to tackle complex problems in biology, medicine and health sciences. The biomedical engineer herein strives towards a solution in balance with technological, economical and ethical constraints.

Thorough knowledge of mail applications in various fields of biomedical engineering

Graduated students master the fundamentals of current biomedical engineering and have a thorough knowledge of the basic concepts and an overview of the main applications in various fields of biomedical engineering (medical imaging, medical signal processing, medical physics, medical device technology, tissue engineering, biomaterials, ...). The graduated student has acquired the necessary research skills which allow him or her to independently analyze and solve a problem, and recognizes the importance of permanent learning in a continuously evolving domain.

Work in multidsciplinary teams

The biomedical engineer is trained to work in multidisciplinary teams (influx of students with different bachelor backgrounds, lecturers from various faculties and scientific domains, multi-disciplinary projects) and has the required communication skills.

Awareness of ethical and socio-medical aspects

The biomedical engineer is aware of the ethical and socio-economic aspects of biomedical engineering and healthcare, and of the social responsibility of a master in engineering.

Career opportunities

With the diploma of Master of Biomedical Engineering, the student has ample possibilities in finding a job in Flanders, Belgium, Europe or worldwide, and this in industry, hospitals, health care, universities and research institutes, in government positions... The biomedical engineer is versatile, per definition multidisciplinary and therefore employable in many different positions such as:

• PhD-student at a university, performing fundamental research (e.g. unraveling
  the mechanism behind infection of implants, expanding the possibilities of tissue
  engineering, designing a prosthesis to restore sight...)
• PhD-student at a large industry R&D-department, performing applied research (e.g.
  design of a second generation discus prosthesis, minimally invasive heart support
  devices...)
• Product manager in an industry. Their education and training enables the student to
  lead a multinational and multicultural project team.
• R&D-department of an industry, working as a project leader on applied resea ch (e.g. design, production and assessment of biomaterials for artificial organs, heart valves, pacemakers; design of imaging techniques, sensors and information technology for patient monitoring; acquisition, storage, analysis and simulation of bio-data...)
• Medical physics engineer in a hospital supporting and improving patient care by
  applying engineering and management skills to health-care technology. They can be involved in technical support of daily practice, training of health care professionals, introducing safety programs, etc.
• "Regulatory Affairs Manager" in medical industry, providing advice on the design and production of medical devices and technology and taking the necessary steps to allow commercialization and implementation of new products on the market. This involves meeting requirements imposed by CE-marking or the US Food and Drug Administation (FDA).
• Government/public health, developing health care policy for the future.
• Consultancy in a wide spectrum of functions, from product design to safety
  regulations.
• Notified bodies, Regulatory Affairs Managers, screening new products for a CE-mark, patent offices...
• Health Insurance, improving health care and controlling costs.
• Any job requiring the traditional analytical and organizational skills of the academically trained engineer (general consultancy jobs, top functions in administration, banking sector...)