Medical Informatics

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.

The master’s programme begins in the autumn semester 2019 (calendar week 38).