Qualification Profile of the Master's Degree Programme in Medical Informatics
The aim of the Medical Informatics degree programme is to educate competent medical informaticians with specific subject-related expertise.
Medical Informatics focuses on the integration of information technologies in healthcare in order to drive innovation, improve treatment outcomes, and support the digital transformation of healthcare. This interdisciplinary field combines knowledge from computer science, medicine, biology, public health, and related disciplines to develop and implement innovative solutions.
The master's degree programme in Medical Informatics offers a sound, scientifically and methodologically high-quality education in these areas, with a focus on sustainable knowledge. This enables graduates to pursue careers in the following fields, as well as further qualifications, particularly within the framework of a subsequent relevant doctoral programme, and makes them internationally competitive:
- Designing and implementing innovative solutions in the field of digital health and medical informatics
- Applying state-of-the-art techniques in data analysis, modelling, and machine learning
- Solving complex interdisciplinary IT problems in healthcare
- Conducting research in academic and industrial settings with a focus on health technologies and medical informatics
- Leading IT projects in healthcare and implementing digital transformation strategies in clinical and public healthcare
- Consulting and training stakeholders in the field of digital health solutions and innovations
The master's degree programme in Medical Informatics places particular emphasis on a methodological approach to problems and the associated solution-oriented mindset. The combination of fundamental medical knowledge, scientific working methods, and practice-oriented technical skills enables graduates to develop innovative solutions at the interface of computer science and medicine and to receive a broad interdisciplinary professional education. The focus lies on the development and application of algorithms, data-processing workflows, interoperable information systems, and decision-support systems that enable evidence-based and data-driven healthcare. In addition to comprehensive preparation for addressing IT problems in the medical field, graduates also receive in-depth training in a self-selected specialised area. Depending on the profile chosen, students acquire skills that enable them to design solutions, develop systems, implement new analytical methods, and integrate these into research, clinical work, and healthcare processes, in close collaboration with bio- or neuroscientists, physicians, or healthcare professionals. Overall, by teaching fundamental concepts of medical informatics, the programme ensures that graduates are equipped for current and future tasks in biomedical research, medicine, and healthcare, and that they have a solid foundation for the efficient development of new methods in medical informatics.
Graduates also acquire competencies in the areas of diversity in medicine and gender medicine and are qualified to take into account the relationship between the core dimensions of diversity—socioeconomic status, ethnic and national origin, age, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, sex and gender identity, religion, and worldview—and health status, with reference to the tasks of medical informatics.
Professional fields for graduates include:
• Pharmaceuticals and personalised medicine: bioinformatics, drug discovery
• Neuroscience: neuroinformatics, analysis of brain imaging data
• Public health: epidemiological data analysis, public health informatics
• Mobile and wearable health technologies: assistive devices, health monitoring
• Artificial intelligence in healthcare: predictive analytics, diagnostics, treatment optimisation
• Biomedical research: genomics, proteomics, imaging technologies
• Health data management: handling, integration, and safeguarding of large-scale health datasets
In view of professional requirements, the master's degree programme in Medical Informatics provides qualifications in the following categories.
Subject-specific competencies
Students may choose from the following specialisations within the master's degree programme in Medical Informatics: Bioinformatics, Neuroinformatics, Public Health Informatics, Mobile Health, Wearable, Assistive Technologies, or Artificial Intelligence and Analytics in Clinical Decision Making. Each specialisation provides students with specific competencies:
- Bioinformatics: Techniques for managing and analysing biological data using computer-based tools in the fields of genomics, proteomics, and personalised medicine.
- Neuroinformatics: Techniques for simulating neural networks and for managing and analysing complex neuroscientific data to understand brain functions and disorders.
- Public Health Informatics: Techniques for managing and analysing public health data, including epidemiological studies and population health management, and for supporting decision-making in public health.
- Mobile Health, Wearable, and Assistive Technologies: Design and development of innovative digital health tools for patient care and health monitoring.
- Artificial Intelligence and Analytics in Clinical Decision Making: This field combines AI-based analytics, medical imaging, and clinical informatics in order to make effective use of data from imaging procedures and clinical systems. The aim is to support evidence-based decisions and improve diagnostics, workflows, and patient outcomes.
Transferable competencies
- Applying scientific and computational methods to solve tasks in healthcare
- Using computational tools to simulate, improve, and optimise biological systems or healthcare procedures
- Planning and conducting experiments, analysing data, interpreting results, and evaluating solutions
- Knowledge of software tools, programming languages, and healthcare standards
- Collaborating with experts from medicine, biology, public health, and technology
- Documenting and presenting complex solutions for diverse audiences, including scientists, clinicians, and policymakers
- Leading interdisciplinary teams and contributing effectively as a team member
- Assessing the societal and ethical implications of digital health innovations
- Managing time, resources, and priorities in order to achieve project goals while taking responsibility for one’s own work
- Fostering one’s own creativity and curiosity while developing innovative solutions and approaches to complex challenges in healthcare
- Adaptability and a lifelong commitment to new trends and technologies in digital health
- Strategic thinking and planning