We are pleased to inform you about the Information Day on TEMPUS IV project “Biomedical Engineering Education Initiative in Eastern Neighboring Area” (BME-ENA) and Workshop on BME Education that took place on May 20, 2015, at the Academic Council Hall of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia. Representatives of five partner institutions took part on the event: the project coordinator University of Patras (UPAT, Greece), Technical University of Varna (TUV, Bulgaria), National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU), and Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM), as well as the National Erasmus Plus Office in Armenia (NEO).
The principal goal of the event was to present a new European Joint Master’s Program in Biomedical Engineering (BME), which is launching in September 2015 at NPUA and RAU in Armenia, as well as at several institutions in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The study program was developed under the above mentioned TEMPUS project with participation of leading BME experts from 7 EU countries (Greece, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania). The program will allow local students to take some courses in the European partner countries, as well as to learn from renowned professors visiting Armenia. It is expected that in the future graduates of the program will be awarded joint diplomas with EU partner universities.
Professor Ruben Aghgashyan, the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and Development of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia, opened the event with a welcome message, then presented an overview on the structure, activities and achievements of the NPUA.
The next speaker was Professor Nicolas Pallikarakis, Director of the BME Study Program at the University of Patras in Greece, and Coordinator of the BME-ENA Project, who addressed the advances and prospects in Biomedical Engineering Education in his presentation.
The next talk was given by Dr. Georgi Chaltikyan, President of the AATM, the moderator of the event who introduced the mission and activities of the Association, and then presented in detail the new Joint Master’s Program in Biomedical Engineering and its perspectives in Armenia and other neighboring countries.
His talk was followed by several presentations by the representatives of different partner institutions, revealing their views, experience and expectations related to the education in biomedical engineering in general, and to the new joint master’s program in particular. Lastly the National Erasmus Plus Officer Ms. Lana Karlova took the floor, who congratulated on advancement of the project, as well as addressed some challenges of the program implementation at Armenian institutions.
The presentations were followed by a vivid discussion and Q&A session, with active involvement of students from RAU and NPUA.
