BLUEPRINT - KU Leuven...3 Introduction The blueprint of the Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering is the result of a comprehensive process of input and feedback

BLUEPRINT MASTER OF HUMAN HEALTH ENGINEERING

FACULTEIT BIO-INGENIEURSWETENSCHAPPEN

OKTOBER 2017

1

Contents List of figures ........................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Part 1: Profile and Vision......................................................................................................................... 4

Learning objectives ............................................................................................................................. 4

Target audience .................................................................................................................................. 6

Focal Points ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Part 2: Human Health Engineering in practice ........................................................................................ 7

Structure and learning tracks .............................................................................................................. 7

Teaching methods ............................................................................................................................... 7

Assessment .......................................................................................................................................... 8

International orientation .................................................................................................................... 8

Annex: Learning outcomes Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering ............... 10

2

List of figures

Figure 1: Core components of the HHE program

Figure 2: HHE: from biology to technology

Figure 3: Structure and learning tracks of the Master of bioscience engineering: human health

engineering

3

Introduction

The blueprint of the Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering is the result of a

comprehensive process of input and feedback by both the Master Permanent Education Commission

(MaPOC), the joint steering committee of the program and its equivalent master in de bio-

ingenieurswetenschappen: biosysteemtechniek, the faculty POC and the faculty council. A blueprint

workgroup was set up at the faculty level, including the vice-dean of education and the staff member

of education, this workgroup was supported by the Dienst onderwijsprofessionalisering en –

ondersteuning. The task of this workgroup was to guide the blueprint process and to develop a

common template for the development of blueprint in a first phase. This template was submitted for

approval to the faculty POC, the committee in which all program directors are represented. In a second

phase, the blueprint was elaborated with program specific inputs by the steering committee of the

program, by the MaPOC and in cooperation with the workgroup. Finally, the final version was

submitted to the faculty council for approval.

4

Part 1: Profile and Vision

The master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering (HHE) is a programme organized

jointly by four faculties of KU Leuven and belongs to the family of nine programmes that entitle their

graduates as ‘bioscience engineer’. The faculty of bioscience engineering takes the lead and is

accompanied by the faculties of engineering; medicine; and kinesiology and rehabilitation sciences.

HHE is a transdisciplinary and specialized education at the master level in the field of human health

engineering that is based on scientific research that is carried out mainly in the KU Leuven Department

of Biosystems. HHE and its focus are unique in Flanders and the programme is among the first in the

world focusing on technology for healthy humans. Despite its recent creation, the programme already

serves as an example for similar training programmes at other European universities.

Learning objectives

HHE aims at training engineers who, based on their quantitative and qualitative knowledge of the

interaction processes between the living organism (healthy humans) and their environment can

develop innovative solutions in order to monitor and control biological processes and can design the

technical environment for this purpose. Environment is defined here in the broad sense as all the

variables (physical, chemical, biological, technical, social, etc.) that effectively and potentially affect

the living organism. Living organisms are defined as biological systems within which complex dynamic

processes take place and that have a strong interaction with their micro-environment. The studied

biological systems and processes span different scales (from sub-cellular systems to ecosystems).

The emphasis in HHE is on measuring, modelling and control of biological processes in healthy humans

and on the interaction with their micro-environment. It is the ambition that HHE-graduates have a

sound basic knowledge of biological processes and possess the quantitative engineering skills to apply

this process knowledge in many different applications. These applications cover, but are not limited

to, care for the physical and mental health of individuals in a modern society (athlete, worker, elderly)

through monitoring and control of the healthy human with innovative technology during sports and

for prevention.

The following learning objectives are specific to HHE:

1. Gaining insight in and knowledge of the interaction processes that take place between the living

organism (healthy human) and its environment. This happens especially via the application of

quantitative methods and techniques on the living organism. The uniqueness of the programme

is reflected in the following programme specific objectives:

a. Gaining knowledge about the biological responses of healthy humans to all

environmental stimuli (biological, physical, chemical, technical, social, etc.);

b. Gaining insight in the individual character of the complex and dynamic responses of

humans to their micro-environment (climate, diet, exercise, etc.);

c. Gaining know-how about monitoring, modelling and control of the responses of healthy

humans in order to improve the well-being, performance and health of individual humans;

d. Designing, developing and realising the technical tools (mechanisms, structures, sensors,

control systems, monitoring systems of processes and environmental conditions, etc.)

which ensure optimal values of all environment variables for the considered biological and

biophysical processes;

5

e. Designing, developing and realising innovative sensors and actuators based on biological

concepts and this on different spatial scales.

From this particular approach follows that HHE is rather discipline-oriented than object-

oriented where ‘discipline’ is to be interpreted as the combination of biological basic

knowledge, process knowledge and knowledge of modern quantitative engineering

technologies. Insight in and application of quantitative engineering technology are thus more

important than descriptive knowledge of the considered processes;

2. Exploring the broad application field of HHE which includes but is not restricted to man and

his bio-environment in the broadest sense (climate, nutrition, training, stress, work

environment), environmental technology, ‘biological engineering’ such as systems biology and

diagnostics in life sciences. Within this broad field, the focus is mainly on health (stress and

condition monitoring of patients and athletes, etc.), comfort (ergonomics, thermal comfort,

etc.), prevention (monitoring of elderly people, drowsiness monitoring, etc.) and nutrition and

this with the aim to improve the quality of life of individual humans;

3. Acting as an integrator who can deal with the wide application domain and who:

a. Speaks the language of the specialists for the various sectors covered by HHE, in particular

(but not limited to) the sector of sport and health, nutrition, wellness and wellbeing,

prevention, the technological sector, the biological and biotechnological sectors;

b. Is capable of collaborating in multi- and interdisciplinary teams, with a broad view on the

whole, but also with attention to details and who is characterised by empathy and good

verbal, written and managerial skills;

c. Can communicate professionally in an oral and written way within each domain and

between the various domains;

d. Can frame the knowledge, acquired in the programme, in the proper legal and ethical

contexts and who is prepared, being equipped with a critical and rational attitude towards

science and technology, to apply the generated knowledge in a broad application domain

together with other engineers, kinesiology and rehabilitation experts, medical doctors

and other scientists.

Figure 1: Core components of the HHE programme

6

The higher mentioned objectives are translated into a set of intended learning outcomes (annex) .

HHE also encourages its students to further develop their personal skills and attitudes. Students are

coached in critical self reflection, citizenship, entrepreneurship, scientific integrity, interdisciplinary

collaboration and responsible leadership.

This implies that the programme keeps track of and contributes to the fastly evolving science and

educational insights, and is aware of the progressive global and societal changes. Examples of

challenges which HHE-students focus on are:

Improving and monitoring of health and well-being of humans using innovative technologies

and advanced data processing;

Developing wearable technology for supporting active and healthy living of an ageing

population.

Target audience

The programme is designed to accommodate a mix of international and local students who discovered

their ‘disciplinary future self’ (DSF) in a relevant previous academic bachelor’s education and who wish

to broaden and deepen their DSF. Entering students must have had a sufficiently quantitative prior

education in exact sciences: (i) mathematics and statistics, (ii) physics, (iii) chemistry, (iv) biology, and

the application of these basic sciences in solving engineering problems.

Focal Points

- System oriented, quantitative approach for measuring, modelling and managing bioprocesses

related to healthy humans

- Real-world applications from a conceptual perspective

- Technological applications based on biological knowledge

- Attractive for both international and local students and delivering the professional title ‘Bioscience

engineer’

- Equivalency with the Dutch taught Master in de bio-ingenieurswetenschappen:

biosysteemtechniek (BST) together with which it is managed by a joint steering committee

including the overall coordinators of the two programs, lecturers, teaching assistants, and

students. As a result, HHE and BST benefit from shared courses and a shared quality control

system.

Figure 2: HHE: from biology to technology

7

Part 2: Human Health Engineering in practice

Structure and learning tracks

The Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering is a two stage programme of 120

ECTS which typically takes two years to finalise. It consists of two sets of courses. Through the first

one, the so-called truncus communis, students acquire the fundamental knowledge and skills for

overall biosystems engineering while the second one, the so-called major is meant to provide the basis

for engineering of the human health as a subsystem of the overall biosystems.

The courses in the truncus communis and in the major package contribute to clear, disciplinary

learning tracks: Measuring, Modelling, Managing, Physiology and Biology.

Students complement the truncus and major with a minor package of their choice. The minor is meant

to let students broaden or deepen the disciplinary field through a selection of courses from another

major in the field of bioscience engineering.

The programme is completed with a limited set of elective courses. Among the possible elective courses there is a professional internship in an external organization for at least 5 weeks. Courses and learning tracks eventually converge in the master thesis which encompasses an original

and relevant piece of research which is intensively coached and evaluated in an integrated way.

Figure 3: Structure and learning tracks of the Master of bioscience engineering: human health engineering

Teaching methods

HHE-students are coached to achieve the set learning objectives through a variety of teaching methods. About 50% of the credits in HHE combined with a minor of Bionanotechnology are covered

8

by interactive lectures, 15% by practical coursework, 10% by guided exercises and 25% by the master thesis. A special course in the truncus communis is the Project Work Biosystems Engineering. To highlight the importance of and the possibilities for entrepreneurship, a business case is simulated in the context of which student teams develop a new technological product. Herewith students are not only challenged where it regards their technical skills and competences, but they also develop transferable skills like project management, efficient communication and economic assessment. The optional internship provides students with the opportunity to acquire professional experience in an external organisation at the level of a starting engineer. Moreover, a number of courses come with guided company visits.

Assessment

The extent to which students achieve the learning objectives of HHE is evaluated in line with the

overall assessment policy of the faculty of bioscience engineering. This implies that for each course

the type of assessment is adapted to the nature of the learning objectives and that the assessment is

transparent:

- Courses that are geared towards knowledge acquisition and process and systems thinking are

most often evaluated through an oral exam with written preparation;

- Courses with associated exercise sessions, dealing with modelling and quantitative methods, are

at least partly evaluated through paper- or software-based exercise assignments;

- For practice-oriented courses, students hand in papers, reports or do presentations through which

also research and communication skills are evaluated;

- Individual project work is evaluated by the coaches, while for project work in team also peer

assessment is conducted;

- The master thesis and internship are evaluated by an evaluation committee which makes use of a

faculty-wide evaluation roster.

The project work biosystems engineering integrates several learning objectives and likewise it is

evaluated in an integrated fashion. Coaches and peers pay attention to both the quality of the process

(contribution to the project) as to the quality of the product (presentation, demonstration, final

report).

The faculty assessment policy also makes provision for the prevention, detection and penalization of

plagiarism. Students are made aware of the nature and unacceptability of plagiarism in the truncus

communis course ‘Integration of biological responses in project management’. Upon detection of

plagiarism, a proportional penalization is imposed, not in the least for the master’s thesis.

International orientation

The Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human Health Engineering is an English taught programme

geared towards a mixed international and Flemish student public and involving Flemish and

international instructors. A number of courses are shared with other course programmes, enhancing

the programme’s international character.

9

Furthermore, HHE- students have the opportunity to incorporate an exchange semester with a partner

university in their programme. Finally, there is also the possibility to engage in an international

internship or to carry out abroad the research for the master thesis.

10

Annex: Learning outcomes Master of Bioscience Engineering: Human

Health Engineering

1. Advanced knowledge, insight and skills with respect to the interaction processes between

living organisms as biological systems with complex dynamic processes, and their biotic and

abiotic environment, both at the fundamental and applied level, with attention for the actual

developments and evolutions on the long term

2. Advanced system and application oriented insight in multiscale concepts (nano-, micro- and

macroscale), which allows to structure and model processes and systems, or can be applied

to solve problems in a number of focus domains.

3. System thinking: Ability to differentiate the interactions among different processes within an

assignment, to define subprocesses and formulate a technical definition for these, and to

enable a further detailed technical study.

4. Independent integration and extension of acquired knowledge, aware of the personal

competences, aiming at new concepts and innovation of the application possibilities.

5. Problem-oriented formulation and analysis of complex problems within the expertise domain,

by dividing these into manageable subproblems and designing solutions for specific cases with

attention for the application possibilities and broader conceptual impact.

6. Independently conceive, plan and execute an engineering project at the level of a starting

investigating professional. Conduct and critically interpret a literature search according to

scientific standards, with attention for the conceptual context and the application potential.

7. Use intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary insights to select, adapt or eventually develop

advanced research, design and solution methods, and adequately apply these and

scientifically process the obtained results; motivate the choices made based on the

foundations of the discipline and the requirements of the application and business context.

8. Act from a research attitude: creativity, accuracy, critical reflection, motivation of choices on

scientific grounds.

9. Groundbreaking, innovative and application-oriented development of systems, products,

services and processes; extrapolation with attention for the business context. Extract new

research questions from design problems.

10. Control system complexity using quantitative methods. Have sufficient knowledge, insight and

experience in scientific research to critically evaluate the results.

11. Act from an engineering attitude within a generic and discipline-specific context: result-

oriented attitude, attention for planning and technical, economical and societal boundary

conditions like sustainability, risk and feasibility assessment of the proposed approach or

solution, focus on results and achievement of effective solutions, innovative and

transdisciplinary thinking.

12. Work using a project-based approach from a generic and disciplinary context: formulate goals,

keep focus on specific objectives and development route, operate as a member of an

interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team, develop leadership, operate in an international

or intercultural environment, report effectively.

13. Have the economic and business insight to place the contribution to a process or the solution

of a problem in a wider context.

14. Weigh specifications and boundary conditions and transform them into a high quality system,

product or process. Extract useful information from incomplete, conflicting or redundant data.

11

15. Communicate written and verbally about the own field in the language of instruction and in

the languages that are relevant for the specialism.

16. Communicate and present subject matters in fluent language and graphically to colleagues

and laypersons.

17. Act ethically, professionally and with social responsibility, with attention for technical,

economical, human and sustainability aspects