BME-ENA – Biomedical Engineering Education Tempus Initiative in Eastern Neighbouring Area (2013-2016): Programme: TEMPUS IV 2013, EU

Today, Biomedical Engineering (BME) is one of the fastest growing technological areas in the developed world, in part due to population ageing and the related increased needs, the increasing awareness of the importance of health in human productive life and the high added value of BME products and services. As a consequence, the role of biomedical engineers is becoming essential in both the industrial and the health care delivery sectors. The future of BME as a profession is for that reason in high demand. In a recent study, the US Dept. of Labor predicts that the BME profession will be among the “hottest” jobs by the end of this decade. Actually, it is stated that “biomedical engineers are projected to be the fastest growing occupation in the economy”. Therefore, it is clear that countries that will not invest in BME education will be unable not only to develop but also to even use efficiently existing and forthcoming health care technologies.

The objective of the TEMPUS IV BME-ENA project is to promote BME Education in the EU and Eastern Neighbouring Area (ENA), through the creation of joint multidisciplinary MSc programs in the field of Biomedical Engineering. The structure of the programs will be built upon the European Higher Education Area principles, thus facilitating the harmonization and leading to comparable degrees based on two main cycles and the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) that will allow mutual recognition and increased students and teaching staff mobility. Through these MSc programs, close collaboration links will be established between the ENA and the EU project partners, links that are expected to be well maintained after the project completion. This will have major positive effects in both, the health technology industrial sector and the health delivery system through the appropriate management and safe use of medical devices.

The BME-ENA project will enable 4 ENA Partner Countries: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to face the challenges of biomedical technology through capacity building measures. There is an increasing demand for BME specialists in these countries, since advanced technologies are implemented in the healthcare sector. The project will focus on the creation of 4 joint BME MSc educational programs, which will be designed and implemented according to the most recent development in the field and following the recommendations of a previous very successful TEMPUS IV CRH-BME Project. The BME-ENA project consortium is established to meet the needs and achieve the project’s objectives, and it consists of 7 EU and 10 ENA Partner Institutions from 11 countries. The ultimate goal of the BME-ENA project is to prepare a new generation of Biomedical Engineers, able to understand, develop, manage and use advanced medical technology.