Humanitas University and Polytechnic University of Milan – together for an innovative Degree Programme
The collaboration between Humanitas University, the scientific university closely integrated with the Humanitas Hospital and Research Center , and Polytechnic University of Milan, one of the most prestigious technological universities in the world, will give life in the next academic year to the new (and unique in the world) degree course in Medicine, the MEDTEC School, entirely in English.
This will create a new professional figure that will combine the skills of the doctor with those of the engineer, skills necessary for future doctors to be able to apply new technologies (precision medicine, artificial intelligence, neuro-robotics, big data, etc..), which in recent decades have played a key role in the path of patient care and increase life expectancy.
The new MEDTEC Degree Programme
The new degree Programme, in English, provides a 6-year training course managed by the teachers of Humanitas University and the Polytechnic, with the use of interactive methodologies, during which there will be an alternation of frequency between the two universities.
In the first three years of the course, in fact, the frequency of lessons will be alternating semesters in the two locations, while in the following three years courses and modules will be held by professors of the Polytechnic at Humanitas University, this to ensure a full integration of engineering skills during clinical training. In some of the activities typical of the medical profession, students will also be followed by tutors from the Polytechnic.
At the end of this course, graduates in Medicine are able to request also their Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic, and then continue, according to their career choice, in medical practice in schools of specialization, in medical research and engineering with technical PhDs or directly in industry.
The reason for the new training proposal
Humanitas President Gianfelice Rocca explains: “In the field of Life Sciences, great challenges are on the horizon: the ageing of the population, the impact of innovation, accessibility and sustainability of national systems of care and assistance. In a social context of increasing complexity, MEDTEC School was created to respond to these challenges by training professionals capable of managing and exploiting technology for the benefit of increasingly humane, innovative and sustainable medicine.
The convergence of Medicine and Engineering is in fact one of the major factors of future development, and Milan and Lombardy are the motor that can make Italy the driving force behind an avant-garde Healthcare, accessible to all, leveraging existing skills and their synergy.
MEDTEC School, born from the collaboration between two institutions such as Humanitas University and Polytechnic University of Milan, is a flagship for the Lombard territory, which has always been a privileged place of partnership between public and private at the service of the citizen. The innovative didactic approach, combined with clinical training in a large teaching hospital such as Humanitas and the international character of our University, make it unique on the European and global scene”.
“The great international technical universities, such as Stanford or Imperial College, have identified life sciences and precision medicine as the future of advanced technologies and data science. In the same way, the Polytechnic University of Milan has identified medicine, health and wellbeing as one of the major challenges to face in the coming years. These are also key challenges for delivering to the country the skills and knowledge necessary for the growth of our graduates. This is the vision behind the new training proposal, presented by the Polytechnic University of Milan and Humanitas, to create a new professional figure capable of combining medical and engineering skills,” said Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan.
In recent decades, the role of technologies in medicine has had a strong impact on the path of care of patients, from diagnosis to therapy, contributing to the increase in both expectations and quality of life. The training of doctors must therefore also be adapted and enriched with new skills.
“Medical innovation improves the quality of life, but it is necessary to find a model that guarantees its sustainability. This is why it is important to act from the very beginning of the training of young people” – says Marco Montorsi, rector of Humanitas University. “It is essential to develop new skills to deal with situations of increasing complexity that may redesign the role of the doctor and his relationship with the patient, supported by technology. An innovative didactic approach that combined with field training, also possible thanks to the Humanitas hospital that is very close by, and the international character of our University, make this course unique in the European and global panorama”.
An innovative didactic approach
The course is based on the unique didactic approach of Humanitas University and Polytechnic University of Milan, which involves the use of interactive methodologies, such as Research-Based Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Case Method and portfolio of skills. The team of academic representatives has developed it: Prof. Maria Laura Costantino, President of the MEDTEC School degree course and lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan, Prof. Maurizio Cecconi, Vice President of the MEDTEC School degree course, head of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at Humanitas and lecturer in Anesthesiology at Humanitas University, Prof. M. M. C., President of the MEDTEC School degree course and lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Stefano Duga, Director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Molecular Biology at Humanitas University and Prof. Andrea Aliverti, Coordinator of the PhD course in Bioengineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan. The link between medical and engineering training unfolds along the entire training path thanks to an alternation of attendance between Humanitas University and the Polytechnic University of Milan.
A new building
The integration between Medicine and Biomedical Engineering that characterizes the new degree course has made it necessary to create an ad hoc space that meets the particular organizational needs. The new building, which will be located on the Humanitas University Campus, green and hi-tech, with one of the most advanced Simulation Centers in Europe, whose construction is supported by a major private donation, will have open and modular laboratories to connect with the classrooms where the frontal lessons are held, in order to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and communication between students and teachers of different disciplines.
From the very beginning of their training, MEDTEC School students will be able to take advantage of the Humanitas research laboratories and gain experience in a highly specialized hospital, considered one of the most technologically advanced in Europe.
The entrance test
Access to the new MEDTEC School Bachelor for the academic year 2019/2020 will be regulated by an entrance test in English, scheduled for September 6, 2019, for the conquest of one of the 50 places available.
The test is designed to capture the aptitude and propensity of candidates to study both medicine and engineering science.
