Introducing the New IFMBE News Section on Education
The importance and range of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (MBES) keeps growing, as does the number of
educational programs and the variety of degrees and educational providers. It does not come as a surprise that Education
(especially the creation of a European Higher Education Area) is one of the "hot spots" in European politics for a number
of reasons: This situation forces us to think about issues such as: who will act as the guardians and pacesetters of medical and biological engineering and science education? How do we secure the necessary influence of the professional societies on education, and the professional standing of MBES? Which countries and schools should be our role models as we move towards the European Higher Education Area? As a response to these challenges, IFMBE has reacted by fostering the formation of the European Alliance for Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES) and established a working group on education and accreditation. This group's primary function has been to assess the status of MBES education throughout Europe to develop criteria and recommendations for the accreditation of MBES programs in Europe (to be published in June of 2003 on the occasion of the inauguration of EAMBES). The 1st European MBES forum co-organised by this working group (on the occasion of EMBEC'02 in Vienna) included special sessions organised by Dick Slaaf and myself on the "Integration of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering in BME Education" and "Biomedical Engineering Education Moving Towards European Harmonization: Initiatives and Experiences". Augmented interest in MBES education, however, is not limited to Europe. In 2000, the Whitaker Foundation convened a Biomedical Engineering Educational Summit, and in 2003, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) focussed on BMES education and accreditation at its Annual Event. In view of the continuing high interest in biomedical engineering education, the Editor of IFMBE News decided to set up an Education Section that makes its first appearance in this issue of the News. The aim of the section is to disseminate all important information on MBES education, training, continuing education, certification and accreditation of academic programs and to initiate communication and discussions among colleagues interested in these topics, from all over the world. To maintain this section as a permanent part of the IFMBE News, contributions from all regions on these topics, including important events and developments that are of general interest for the BME community, are encouraged. Due to the present urgency of European developments towards a harmonised higher education area, (in addition to the special steps that are already being taken with regard to the change of educational programs and their accreditation) we have, as part of this first issue, invited some of the speakers on education at EMBEC'02 to describe their experiences of initiatives directed towards educational harmonisation in their countries. The diversity of BME education in Europe that becomes apparent from these contributions, raises the question of whether to consider it a cultural asset for Europe or a possible problem for a united Europe warranting unlimited mobility in a higher education area with unimpeded employability in the European labour market. In any case, medical and biological engineering education appears to be one of the major beneficiaries of today's European developments. Joachim Nagel
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