1st General Assembly and Project Kick-off Meeting

The 1st General Assembly and Kick-off Meeting of the BME-ENA project was held in Patras, Greece, on 28-29 April 2014, and concluded with success. Representatives from all Partnership Institutions participated.

BME-ENA project consortium – 1st General Assembly and project Kick-off meeting, April 2014, Patras, Greece

With this occasion, a Workshop on “Biomedical Engineering Education in Europe” was also organized. The Workshop was endorsed by the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE) and the Hellenic Society for Biomedical Technology (ELEVIT), and emphasized the need to promote BME Education in the wider European area, through the creation, harmonization and updating of BME study programs, in order to prepare a new generation of skilful Biomedical Engineers, able to face challenges in this rapidly evolving field. 

Prof. Ratko Magjarevic, the President of IFMBE, gave presentation during the Workshop.

During the meeting, Prof. Ratko Magjarevic, President of the IFMBE, who also participates in the BME-ENA project as an external expert, announced the organization of a Special Session on BME Education within the 6th European Conference of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (MBEC 2014) that will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from 7th to 11th September 2014. The project participants supported the importance of this event and expressed interest to promote BME-ENA project outcomes during this Special Session on BME Education, where important stakeholders and experts of the Medical and Biological Engineering field are expected to be present, sharing their experience and participating in the discussions on promoting BME education in Europe. Therefore, it was decided to prepare several papers to disseminate the results on the current state of the BME-ENA project in Eastern Neighbouring Area countries. 

Additionally, during the 1st GA and kick-off meeting in Patras, it was unanimously decided by the project participants to examine the possibility to organize a Steering Committee Meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the occasion of MBEC 2014.