Apply digital techniques and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
This master’s degree is in English and focuses on the latest information technology for the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Students will acquire knowledge and learn methods from the field of IT and develop expertise in biomedical data analysis, the application of artificial intelligence, visualization technologies, the handling of big data and related economic issues. As an example, the programme will address the question of how digitalization impacts on drug development, hospital processes and the health sector in general. An important focus of the master’s is personalized medicine. Our work related to digital data will also open up further areas such as data security, control mechanisms, decision-making models and ethical issues.
The numerous internships during the programme will enable students to analyze health data as well as apply and develop software for hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. Leading providers from the healthcare industry will be actively involved in the study programme and will address innovative topics in seminars.
Core modules introduce the areas of computer science, healthcare and business, which are essential to operating successfully in the field of medical informatics. These modules are not offered in standard computer science courses. The four core modules offered are compulsory for all students:
The Digital Transformation in Healthcare module lays the foundation for understanding complex relationships in the healthcare system, the actors involved, institutions, organizations and established processes in clinics and insurance companies, device manufacturers and drug development teams. It addresses the technical possibilities, economic opportunities and societal risks of digital transformation in healthcare.
Digitalization is driven by data in healthcare, and the core module BioMedical Data Science addresses this topic. These are specific aspects of medical informatics and various available data sources (clinical information systems, personal tracking devices and diagnostic systems, clinical trials, etc.) need to be addressed by means of specialized protocols and data formats. An important aspect is the integration of these data sources to enable approaches such as personalized medicine. Data security and confidentiality are also of the greatest importance in the processing of medical data.
The development and use of software in the medical environment, either functioning as a medical device itself or as part of a medical device, is subject to specific rules and increasingly strict quality requirements. The core module Medical Software Development examines the international standards governing medical software development and how these are reflected in the day-to-day activities of a typical software development process.
The Digitalization of Business Processes module provides an economic framework for the automation of processes as an interaction between humans and technology. The digitalization of business processes introduces this topic and establishes the business context. The module covers workflow management systems, their embedding in an organization and their interaction with various information systems.
Elective modules include lectures on medical informatics which explore application-oriented medical technologies and business lectures which examine the technologies in a business-oriented context.
Medical Informatics Modules
The students choose elective modules from a range of medical informatics modules, business modules and other modules that consider the dynamic nature of the field of medical informatics in which the technologies and challenges are evolving rapidly and continuously. They enable content to react to current trends and priorities:
Machine Learning in Personalized Medicine: This module is dedicated to machine learning for personalized medicine.
Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery: The module focuses on the application of artificial intelligence to drug discovery.
User-Centred Design and Design Thinking: Well-developed algorithms, in particular in healthcare, can make decisions and ultimately provide benefits for the well-being of humans. It is imperative to recognise this and understand these algorithms. The module is dedicated to these aspects.
Innovation Trends in Medical Informatics: This module takes a seminar style approach to teaching current topics in medical informatics.
Independent Learning Module: This module enables students to study any other relevant topics in medical informatics in more depth.
Applied Computational Intelligence
Business Intelligence
Knowledge Processing and Decision Making
Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience
Compliance Management and Governance of IT
Strategic Business Innovation
Students who lack some of the prior knowledge required for the Master of Science in Medical Informatics will be offered pre-masters’ courses. These can be declared by the Admissions Committee as a prerequisite to starting the programme. The courses are offered in e-learning format and are free of charge.
There are three different courses offered:
Digital Life Sciences - Overview of chemistry, molecular biology, biology, physiology, pharmacology, biotechnology, diagnostics, vaccines
Programming (introduction to programming, data structures, algorithms, control structures, debugging, with examples from R, Python, and Java)
Information Systems (introducing information systems, developing information systems - object-oriented principles with Java, modeling information systems - unified modeling language (UML))
The master's thesis comprises 30 ECTS credits and is carried out during one semester in cooperation with external partners. During their thesis, students work on challenging, application-oriented projects. They are supervised by a lecturer from the master's programme.
The programme can be pursued full-time or part-time alongside a related professional occupation. Both groups of students study together. The main difference is the duration of the course. The full-time programme generally takes 3 semesters, with 30 ECTS points awarded each semester. The part-time programme lasts 5 semesters, with 18 ECTS awarded each semester.
The programme structure is illustrated in the diagram. The students start by taking three core modules in the first semester. The elective modules are chosen freely. Students conclude their studies with their master's thesis.
The programme structure is illustrated in the diagram. The students start by taking three core modules in the first semester. The elective modules are chosen freely. Students conclude their studies with their master's thesis.
Type of certificate
Required Level
CEF
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
C1
FCE
Cambridge First Certificate
FCE-A/B
IELTS
International English Language Testing System
5.5
TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language
iBT 71
English III
Module of the bachelor's programme at the School of Life Sciences FHNW
5.0
The master’s programme begins in the autumn semester (calendar week 38).
Swiss nationals, Students who have their civil law domicile in Switzerland at the start of their studies.
Students who can prove that their parents have civil law residence in Switzerland at the beginning of their studies.
Refugees of legal age and stateless persons with civil law residence in Switzerland.
CHF 700
Tuition fees per semester for students who have their civil law residence in the EU/EFTA at the beginning of their studies
CHF 1'000
Tuition fees per semester for students who do not have their civil law residence in Switzerland or in an EU/EFTA state at the start of their studies.
CHF 5'000
The full semester fees are due if the deregistration or the exmatriculation application is not received by the FHNW within one week after the start of the semester.
The complex transformation of raw data into evaluable health indicators is a key element of personalized medicine.
Prof. Dr. Enkelejda Miho, Head of Study Programme
Prospects
Students will be working on current innovative projects at the interface between healthcare, computer science and economics. As a result, they will acquire knowledge in order to implement and develop digitalization in the health sector. As masters’ graduates they can take on tasks related to the application of artificial intelligence in drug discovery and personalized medicine, hospital information systems and economic processes. Possible employers are hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, federal institutions or insurance companies.
Admission
Highly-qualified graduates are immediately admitted to the master’s programme if they
have acquired a FH Bachelor's degree in life sciences, computer science and information systems and/or business administration and have achieved grade A, B or ≥ 4.8 (≥ good)
or have an equivalent educational background and professional experience (college or university degree)
and have very good command of the English language.
Pre-masters’ courses are offered for students who lack some of the prior knowledge required. These can be declared by the Admissions Committee as a prerequisite to starting the programme. The courses are offered in e-learning format and are free of charge.
Prospective students who do not fully meet the admission requirements will be invited to an interview.