The BECOMING project “Educating Experts of the Future: Developing Bioinformatics and Biostatistics competencies of European Biomedical Students” started in September 2019 and is an excellent example of the cooperation between MUB and foreign partners, that are the University of Pecs (Hungary) and the Transnational University of Limburg, an example of one-of-a-kind partnerships of two Universities in two countries: Hasselt University (Belgium) and Maastricht University (the Netherlands).
The demand for biomedical data scientists within and outside Europe is projected to grow 34% from 2014 to 2024, with bioinformaticians and biostatisticians as two of the highly demanded professions. This implies the need for proper education. While in the US and Western Europe there are already available academic programs at the Bachelor and Master levels that offer an adequate education in bioinformatics and biostatistics applied in life sciences, in Eastern and Central Europe there are unmet educational needs in this respect.
The aim of the project was to support a change in the landscape related to the availability of well-trained bioinformaticians and biostatisticians. This was achieved by the following activities:
- establishing a network of academics from three partner institutions from the Eastern, Central, and Western Europe, adequately positioned and capable of preparing educational programs aimed at training biostatisticians and applied bioinformaticians
- exchange of expertise and best practices between the partner institutions
- creating modular courses that can be used in educational programs
- developing the corresponding e-learning materials and their implementation allowing for their immediate use.
The long-term results are:
- increased educational potential of the partner institutions in the domain of bioinformatics and biostatistics applied in life sciences
- creation of novel courses in the domain of bioinformatics and biostatistics applied in life sciences at the partner institutions
- establishing foundation for future educational initiatives such as joint programs, student exchange schemes, etc. in bioinformatics and biostatistics applied in life sciences. Additionally, the partner universities will engage in international partnership projects in which mainly activities will relate to implementing new study programs or modifying the existing ones.
The direct beneficiaries of the project are the academic staff and scientists of the partner universities, and their master students pursuing a career as bioinformaticians and biostatisticians. The groups indirectly benefiting from the project include staff/physicians at university hospitals.
BECOMING project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union (Action 2, Projects KA203 - Strategic partnerships for higher education). The BECOMING (I) Project ends 31st December 2022.
