Master of Science in Bioinformatics (Bioscience Engineering)
Bioinformatics aims at gaining a better and preferentially more quantitative molecular understanding of cellular processes by integrating and modeling high throughput molecular data (omics data). This requires the use and development of state of the art techniques for storing, retrieving, organising, analysing and interpreting biological data.
What
Recent technological advances have dramatically changed our view on life science research and have turned biology in a data-driven science. It is in this context that bioinformatics, a booming interdisciplinary field, has evolved from a new research domain to a basic discipline in only 15 years. Bioinformatics aims at gaining a better and preferentially more quantitative molecular understanding of cellular processes by integrating and modeling large amounts of molecular data.
Therefore, if ...
- you like problem solving through data analysis and data mining,
- you are intrigued by understanding and modeling complex biological processes,
- you want to make biological discoveries by decoding big data,
- you like working in an interdisciplinary environment,
... then bioinformatics is something for you.
As a bioinformatician you will become an interdisciplinary scientist or engineer who can develop or use state-of-the art statistical and computer science techniques to mine molecular data in order to answer fundamental or applied biological and biomedical questions. Ghent University offers an interfaculty Master of Science in Bioinformatics programme, which - depending on the chosen track - can result in an Engineering or Bioscience Engineering degree.
The programme
- offers a track tuned toward your specific interests and background that prepares you for different job profiles in the bioinformatics domain (respectively bioinformatics scientist and bioinformatics engineer);
- offers both theoretical deepening and data analytical/ problem solving skills;
- is embedded in a strong bioinformatics and biotechnology research environment, located at the Faculty of Sciences, Medicine, Bioscience Engineering and Engineering and Architecture and is affiliated with the VIB and IMEC.
Master of Science in Bioinformatics: Bioscience Engineering
With a bachelor degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or in Bioscience Engineering, you can decide to become a bioinformatics scientist/bioengineer. A bioinformatics scientists applies (bio)informatics tools and techniques to understand a biological system or to solve an innovative research question. You are trained as a problem solver who can creatively and efficiently combine bioinformatics tools and algorithms to analyse, integrate and model data. Having the essential programming and data analysis skills requires a deep understanding of statistics, programming and data analytical techniques (applied mathematics and informatics module of 21 credits). The applied bioinformatics module (33 credits) will make you familiar with the basic data analytical methods (e.g. NGS analysis), help you to acquire interdisciplinary skill sets and illustrate how theoretical concepts of statistics and data mining are used to build bioinformatics tools.
The difference between the Bioscience Engineering and the Systems Biology track is that the former deepens the engineering skills (Bioscience Engineering track of 23 credits), whereas the Systems Biology track (30 credits) pays more attention to advanced (systems) biological knowledge. The master thesis corresponds to 30 credits and focuses on a research topic. Within your programme, you have to opportunity to do an internship in order to get familiar with the role and expectations of a bioinformatics scientist in the industry or a governmental institution.
For whom
The admission requirements depend on previous degrees (type of degree, country of issue etc.) or additional experience.
Labour Market
Technological advances have turned biology in a data-driven science. The avalanche of molecular data enables key discoveries in biology, ecology and molecular evolution, drives innovation in biotech and pharma industry and supports medical and governmental decision making. However, the power of using these data for innovation depends on interdisciplinary skills to analyse, integrate and interpret the data. There is thus an urgent need for bioinformatics scientists and engineers with an interdisciplinary mind set. Currently a large discrepancy exists between the exponential increase of biological data (28% each year) and the number of newly educated bioinformaticians (increase of only 5,8%) who typically find a job in agro, biotech and pharma industry, in research and governmental institutes, and in genetic centra and hospitals. Because of their interdisciplinary and analytical skill sets bioinformaticians also find their way in consultancy, in spin offs and in data analytics.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
www.ugent.be/nl/univgent/waarvoor-staat-ugent/onderwijsbeleid
www.ugent.be/en/ghentuniv/principles/educational-strategy/qualityassurance.htm
Unique Selling Points
- Interdisciplinary education: Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary domain located at the crossroads of computer science, statistics and molecular biology. Having sufficient knowledge of each of these different domains is a prerequisite for any bioinformatician. The unique asset of the Master’s in Bioinformatics is that it provides knowledge of the different domains while maintaining a trade-off between generalization and specialization. The two-year Master’s programme (120 ECTS credits) offers three tracks (in three faculties) designed for students with a different background, i.e. a bioscience engineering track, an engineering track and a systems biology track. Each track consists of (1) a generalization module in which students are introduced to the disciplines complementary to the ones they studied in their undergraduate education. This allows students to understand the interdisciplinary context in which they will need to work, (2) a specialization package in which the disciplines of their undergraduate education are further elaborated and (3) a common module in which all students of the different tracks/backgrounds follow bioinformatics-related courses together.
- Because of the trade-off between generalization and specialization, (1) the Master’s programme respects the primary domain of interest of the student (which is usually reflected by his/her Bachelor’s degree). The goal is not to turn an engineer into a biologist or vice versa, but to provide sufficient domain knowledge to be able to understand the intricacies of the bioinformatics domain. (2) The Master’s programme allows training of students with well-defined and different profiles (bioinformatics scientist, bioinformatics engineer) and herewith meets the needs of the professional field.
- Bioinformatics is a fast evolving domain, in which one has to continuously anticipate novel technologies in molecular biology and computer sciences. Next to an overview of state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools and concepts, the programme aims to offer students enough theoretical background to allow them to keep up with future developments in the domain. Through examples, students learn to be critical towards the results of an analysis, to reflect on the methodology and to be creative in problem-solving. They learn the importance of lifelong learning, problem-solving and having a critical mindset.
- Through projects, students are trained in acquiring essential programming and interdisciplinary communication skills.
- The professional domain is actively involved in the Master’s programme through master projects, internships and courses (capita selecta). This allows students to become familiar with the way bioinformatics is applied in the industry, research or governmental institutes.
Strengths
- Exclusivity rule: Only students that have a sufficient background are accepted onto the specialization courses. As a result, the Master’s programme uses very strict admittance rules so that a high educational level of each of the different tracks is guaranteed.
- The strong modularity guarantees that each student has a sufficient number of courses that extend both the width and depth of his/her knowledge and skills (specialization and generalization), e.g. engineering, bioengineering versus sciences, biology, etc. Each graduate thus has a well-defined profile which is important for the visibility and branding of his/her profile in the market.
- Our professional staff consists of motivated lecturers from different faculties with excellent research records in either the domain of bioinformatics (ranging from applied bioinformatics in the microbial, plant and human domain to method and tool development) or in related domains (e.g. computer science). This guarantees research-based teaching and interdisciplinary points of view.
- The program reflects the multidisciplinary character of the professional field, stimulating students and lecturers to think outside the box to develop and apply creative solutions.
- Stakeholders and the vocational domain are heavily involved in the educational programme (through guest lectures, internships and a Master’s dissertation).
Weaknesses
- As our programme is relatively young, we are still optimizing our strategy to collect feedback from (international) alumni to further improve our curriculum. We are also still looking for the most efficient way to inform international students about our programme.
- Our programme is perceived as rather challenging, particularly for students with a weaker mathematical background, which explains the strict admission criteria. Depending on the student’s your prior education, (limited) self-study may be required to ensure that all essential concepts are understood before starting a course.
- As the number of comparable bioinformatics programmes abroad is limited, there are fewer options for internationalization (e.g. Erasmus) compared to more traditional Master’s programmes.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (in Dutch: NVAO) in 2019. A screening of the Education Monitor by Ghent University’s Education Quality Board is planned in the years 2021-2024.
This information was last updated on 01/06/2021.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.