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Overview

History: The Department of Biomedical Engineering was established in 2018 with the establishment of the University of West Attica. It is the evolution of the Department of Medical Instruments Technology, which was founded in 1985 at the Technological Educational Institute (T.E.I) of Athens and renamed the Department of Biomedical Technology Engineering T.E. in 2013. Since 2019, the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of West Attica follows a 5-year comprehensive undergraduate study program, while since 2020 the Department awards an Integrated Master of level 7 of the National and European Qualifications Framework.


The Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of West Attica is the only one in Greece that offers comprehensive undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies in the field of biomedical engineering and technology (Higher Education map). The study programs of the Department of Biomedical Engineering follow the internationally established and rapidly evolving field of Biomedical Engineering in which it also develops wider scientific-research activity. The Department’s undergraduate program includes courses in biomedical instrumentation, medical physics and biomedical informatics, as well as engineering core courses such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and programming, as well as courses in medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, business administration and economics. During the academic year 2020-2021, the Department had a total of 1095 students, of which 123 were freshmen.

 

Presentation of the Department of Biomedical Engineering from the YouTube channel of UNIWA

 

Biomedical Engineering is an independent scientific field based on the convergence of Positive Sciences and Engineering Sciences with Life Sciences and Health Sciences and aims to conceive and analyze problems that arise in the life sciences and solve them by applying engineering and technology. The development of scientific activities in the field of Biomedical Engineering in the last decades is very fast and is reflected in the large number of educational programs and the large number of scientific publications worldwide.

 

The Biomedical Engineering profession is linked to the field of Biomedical Engineering, which is practiced by graduates of the Department who are called Biomedical Engineers (Medical Device Technology Engineers from 1985 to 2012 and Biomedical Technology Engineers from 2013 to in 2017). The Biomedical Engineer must have knowledge of the specifications, rules and regulations of safety and quality in Health services and is mainly employed in biomedical technology companies, private clinics, public hospitals, research centers and educational institutions with work items covering the study, design, manufacture, control, maintenance and distribution of medical technology products, scientific instruments and machines as well as the development and use of software for any type of application in the Life Sciences and Health Sciences.

Biomedical Engineer positions are found in public hospital organizations, while there is a great demand from medical equipment companies. The Department of Biomedicine of the Ministry of Health has proposed strengthening the role of the respective Departments in Hospitals. In general, the absorption of Biomedical Engineers in the labor market is very high, while a large part of the graduates of the Department carries out postgraduate and/or doctoral studies in Universities in Greece or abroad.

 

Undergraduate Studies: Undergraduate studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering include courses in biomedical instrumentation, medical physics, and biomedical informatics, as well as core engineering courses such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and programming. The curriculum also includes courses in medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, business administration and economics.

 

Postgraduate Studies: The Department organizes two Postgraduate Studies Programs at the University of West Attica:

 

  1. The MSc in-depth course in Biomedical Engineering entitled “Advanced Systems and Methods in Biomedical Technology”.
  2. The international English-speaking “MSc in Biomedical Engineering & Technology” (presentation video), which is designed as an intensive introduction and deepening program in selected fields of Biomedical Engineering and Technology. It is addressed to graduates of the Departments of Engineering, Science, Health Sciences, etc. and other related Sciences who wish to move academically, research and/or professionally in the scientific field of Biomedical Engineering and Technology. The purpose of the program is to create the necessary bases for the development of the participants both at the research and professional level.

 

It is the only Higher Education Department in Greece that organizes undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering.

Currently, the Department offers the following study programs:

 

  1. Diploma (undergraduate studies): Title: “Biomedical Engineering”, 5-year study program with Integrated Master, 300 ECTS, full program in Greek
  2. MSc (postgraduate studies): Title: “Advanced Systems and Methods in Biomedical Engineering”, 1.5 years duration (1st and 2nd semester lectures, 3rd semester diploma thesis), 90 ECTS, full program in Greek
  3. MSc (postgraduate studies): Title: “Biomedical Engineering & Technology”, 1.5 years duration (1st and 2nd semester lectures, 3rd semester diploma thesis), 90 ECTS, full program in English
  4. PhD (postgraduate studies), 3-6 years duration, full program in Greek and English

 

Members of the Department also participate in other graduate programs of Greek Universities (such as the “Medical Physics” program at the University of Patras and the interdepartmental program “Applications of Biology in Medicine” of the Biology Department of the NKUA in collaboration with the School of Medicine of the NKUA), while they have participated and in many other graduate programs such as the “Data Science and Information Technologies” program of the Department of Informatics and Communications of NKUA, which is the continuation of the “Informatics Technologies in Medicine and Biology” program, which was co-organized by the Department of Biomedical Engineering T.E. of T.E.I. of Athens until 2017-2018 together with the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of NKUA, the Medical Biological Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens and the “Demokritos” Research Institute.

 

PhD Programs: The Department operates a Doctoral Studies program while a large number of graduates have completed Doctoral and Postdoctoral studies through the scientific activities and collaborations of the Department’s Professors.

 

Research Programs: A large number (over 30) of Research Programs have been approved in the Department (“Archimedes”, “Excellence” of the GSRI, “Heraklitos”, “Pythagoras”, many Transnational and European Programs FP7, COST, etc.). Faculty of the Department have been assigned the supervision of Postdoctoral students through the respective IKY Postdoctoral Research programs.

 

Scientific conferences and publications: The Department organizes the established scientific conference “International Conference on Bio-Medical Instrumentation and Related Engineering and Physical Sciences” (BIOMEP), participates in the organization of International Scientific Conferences, while faculty members of the Department are actively involved in many other scientific conferences in Greece and abroad with publications of research works. The number of scientific publications by the Department is also high.

Scientific/Research Laboratories: As part of the Department’s research activities, four institutionalized scientific laboratories operate:

 

 

Excellence: A center of Excellence has been created in the Department as part of the “Scientific and Academic Excellence” action of the Ministry of Education. In the framework of this action, three (3) “Excellence” programs with responsible Professors of the Department have been included.

 

European cooperation – Erasmus: The Department has concluded agreements with several academic institutions of higher education of the European Union for the exchange of students and teaching staff within the framework of the Erasmus+ program in the field of Biomedical Engineering. A significant number of the Department’s courses are offered in English, offering students from European Union institutions the opportunity to complete part of their study program in our Department.

 

Evaluation and Quality Policy of the Department: The Department ensures its continuous evaluation in accordance with the rules of the National Authority for Higher Education (NAHE) and the certification of its study programs. The Department’s Undergraduate Studies Program was evaluated and certified by the Evaluation and Certification Council of NAHE in August 2023, while in October 2023 it was unconditionally certified until 2029 by the international organization ACQUIN (https://www.acquin.org/en/) the MSc of the Department of “Biomedical Engineering and Technology” (certificate)

 

External Advisory Committee: According to the decision of the Department’s Assembly (4, 21-10-4-2023), an External Advisory Committee has been appointed to provide advice and comments on the Department’s curriculum and report them to the educational as well as its research direction. The Advisory Committee consists of the following:

 

  • Georgios Strandzalis, Professor of Neurosurgery, Medical School of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA)
  • Theodora Katsila, Researcher III, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF)
  • Konstantinos Sidiropoulos, Senior Data & Analytics Engineer, AstraZeneca, London
  • Ms Chrysanna Pavlou, Account Manager for Allen Recruitment Consulting, an Irish recruitment solutions consultancy in Europe for IT, Finance, Technology, Telecom, Engineering and Life Sciences roles for clients in Ireland, Netherlands, UK, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium

 

The Committee established in accordance with Article 66 of Law 4610/2019 (Government Gazette 70/A/07.05.2019), with the aim of equating the departments of the Faculty of Engineering of UNIWA with departments of other polytechnic schools in Greece, unanimously recommended, following the proposal of National Authority of Higher Education (ETHAAE), the inclusion of the Department in the upcoming Polytechnic School of the University of West Attica. The rights of the graduates of the Department remain intact, as they still derive from their degree/diploma. It is clarified that it was not possible to grant the graduates additional rights within the framework of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE – TCE) as, due to the uniqueness of the Department, it was not possible for the Committee to equate the Department with a corresponding department of another polytechnic school in Greece, but also due to the non-existence of a relevant basic specialty of TEE – TCE. The position of the Department within the upcoming Polytechnic School will give an prestige to the Department and will allow it to continue its development and its research and educational cooperation with the other departments of the existing School of Engineering, which will also join the Polytechnic School.