Accreditation of Biomedical Engineering Programs in Europe

Co-chairs:

Joachim Nagel, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany 
Dov Jaron, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, U.S.A.

As a reflection of major achievements towards European political and commercial unification, the need for quality control and harmonization in higher education and the increasing importance of the European Commission in the funding of research, an IFMBE European working group was established in 1991, with the aim of creating a forum for the European member societies to discuss common problems, and formulate and implement responses to them. Traditional European structures of education, which are strictly national issues, are becoming more and more obsolete in a unified and harmonised Europe where mobility is mandatory; consequently, they need to be replaced or supplemented by structures enabling the compatibility of systems.

The Sorbonne declaration of May 25th, 1998 and the Bologna declaration of June 19th, 1999 made it clear, that the Biomedical Engineering societies in Europe must create a common body representing the European competence in BME or they will loose their influence on further development of BME education. This body would represent the BME community to the European governmental authorities and associations, the European Commission, the Association of European Universities and the Confederation of European Rectors' Conferences. The national societies, which will form the membership of such a body, would provide expertise to the national educational bodies, including the Universities, which, due to their autonomy, are a major factor in the development of quality control of educational programs and the mutual recognition of degrees which is a prerequisite for European agreements to work in practice, and to guarantee free movement within Europe.

The Bologna declaration and the resulting time schedule is creating much pressure on the European BME community to move rapidly. But it is also true that the situation is offering a unique opportunity to advance our profession. The focal issues are quality of education, harmonization and accreditation. Introducing BME accreditation in Europe will raise the professional credibility of biomedical engineers with Government departments/agencies, employers and patients. This will also enhance the standing of BME as a positive contributor to health care. Furthermore, accreditation will simplify the procedures to pursue employment in other member states.

Politicians are requesting input from the experts in non-governmental organizations regarding the issues of quality of education, harmonization and accreditation. In order to initiate widespread European cooperation on this topic, the IFMBE ad-hoc committee on European activities prepared a 'white paper' on BME accreditation in Europe as a basis for discussion among the European Member Societies of the IFMBE. It extends an invitation to all other societies, associations and governmental bodies active in the area of Medical and Biological engineering to join in the efforts towards shaping the future of BME education in Europe. The white paper is a working paper, providing material for further discussion of all interested societies and individuals on the issue of BME education and accreditation.

We challenge all organisations involved in the issues of education and research to participate in preparing and realising the necessary improvements of national structures and setting up and implementing the required new European structures and bodies. It is an unquestionable priority for the broader European Biomedical Engineering Community to address the related issues and work together to realise the required changes in a way that is beneficial to our professions - and thus to society.

The aims of the workshop are to inform the community about the initiative for European BME accreditation, to discuss the contents of the white paper, and to develop strategies on how we can influence the future development of BME accreditation. Several short presentations on specific aspects of BME accreditation will open the workshop and serve as the basis for a broad discussion of all related issues.