The Baden-Württemberg Health Forum was established in 2002 as an initiative of the Baden-Württemberg government’s Ministry of Social Affairs. The Forum’s main objective is to bring together distinct health sectors and to support the collaboration between individual partners. “The medical informatics course was selected as a “beacon project” because it is an ideal combination of a science-based course with practical experience,” said Dr. Günther Hanke, President of the Baden-Württemberg Association of Pharmacists and head of the Baden-Württemberg Health Forum’s working group “Quality in Education”. The medical informatics course, which, along with the software engineering course, comes under the Faculty of Informatics at the Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences and is the only course to be jointly offered by a University and a University of Applied Sciences. Moreover, the course is an excellent preparation for students’ subsequent professional career: It takes into account both the application of IT in medicine and the special requirements of the healthcare system. It brings together several disciplines (medicine, economics, informatics) and prepares students for careers in one of the strongest growing markets in Baden-Württemberg, the healthcare market, where, due to huge medical advances, information technology has long been an indispensable tool. The further development of the interface between medicine and information technology, enhanced by this particular cooperation, contributes to a high quality of patient treatment and to an effective healthcare system. Numerous research and cooperation projects with the healthcare industry help the two partners – the University of Heidelberg and Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences – in their further development of patient-oriented health services as well as strengthening the healthcare industry as an important location factor in Baden-Württemberg.

Source: Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences press release - 24 November 2008


Further information:
Prof. Dr. Nicola Marsden
Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences
Course: Software Engineering (SE)
Faculty of Information Technology
Media and Social Psychology
Tel.: +49 (0)7131-504-235
Fax: +49 (0)7131-252-470