A little medical and a little biomedical engineer. Health professionals who want to keep up with the times will have to be both. That’s why Humanitas University and Politecnico di Milano have decided to open a new international degree course in Medicine. It will be called MEDTEC School and will start next September with the selection of the candidates who want to graduate in medicine without sacrificing skills in areas such as precision medicine and robotics, gene therapies, artificial intelligence and big data. All strictly in English.
Course objectives
Created ad hoc by the lecturers of Humanitas University and the Polytechnic, the new degree course will form for 6 years (the canons of a degree course in medicine) 50 doctors able to fully understand and consciously manage the advanced technologies that characterize, and increasingly characterize in the future, the medical profession. At the end of their studies, students will be able to decide whether to continue and specialize in the clinic, by accessing the specialization schools, or to apply to the Polytechnic for a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, which is more suitable if they wish to continue along the path of biotechnological research. The first access to the new degree course will be on September 6th, through a test in English that will ascertain a range of skills ranging from medicine to engineering.
The new building on the Humanitas Campus
The new building that will host the degree course, constructed thanks to a private donation, is located on the Humanitas campus and will reflect, also architecturally, the integration between Medicine and Engineering thanks to open and modular laboratory spaces, which connect with the classrooms where the frontal lessons are held, thus promoting the exchange of knowledge and communication between students and teachers of different disciplines. The structure is also equipped with one of the most advanced Simulation Centers in Europe. The proximity to the hospital and research laboratories creates a fertile ground and represents an added value for the growth of new professionals.
Keeping up with time
The biggest challenge that the new degree program wants to accept is to keep up with the times, staying in an international context. The choice of the English language responds to this need. The convergence of Medicine and Engineering is one of the major factors for future development, and Milan and Lombardy are the driving force that can make Italy the motivator behind an avant-garde and accessible to all, leveraging existing skills and their synergy. “In the field of Life Sciences, great challenges lie ahead: the aging of the population, the impact of innovation, accessibility and sustainability of national systems of care and assistance – explains Gianfelice Rocca, President of Humanitas -. In a social context of increasing complexity, MEDTEC School was created to respond to those challenges by training professionals able to manage and exploit technology for the benefit of an increasingly humane, innovative and sustainable medicine. “The major international technical universities, such as Stanford or Imperial College, have identified life sciences and precision medicine as the future of advanced technologies and data science – said Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Politecnico di Milano -. Similarly, the Politecnico di Milano has identified medicine, health and wellness as one of the major challenges to be faced in the coming years. Fundamental challenges also to deliver to the country skills and knowledge necessary for the growth of our graduates. This is the vision behind the new training proposal, presented by the Politecnico di Milano and Humanitas, to create a new professional figure capable of combining medical and engineering skills”.
To learn more about MEDTEC School, click here.
