Education

Education

The MSc program in “Bioinformatics – Computational Biology” was first established under the name “Bioinformatics” in 2003 following a proposal by faculty member, Associate Professor Stavros I. Hamodrakas, to the Department of Biology, and subsequently approved by the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs (Government Gazette 773/17-06-2003). It was designed with the criteria of a high-level postgraduate program based on international practices of educational competitiveness and excellence. Its aims were to retain part of the specialized scientific workforce within the country and to retain a large percentage of the best graduates of the Greek university system who would pursue postgraduate studies abroad.

The updated curriculum continues to make every effort to ensure high-quality education by radically changing the way biological research is conducted today. The program aims to equip new bioinformatics scientists with (a) the basic skills to continue their studies at the doctoral level, (b) the fundamental knowledge to pursue careers in bioinformatics positions in academia or industry, and (c) the essential skills to potentially start their own company. Upon completion of the program, graduates are expected to have acquired the qualifications and practical skills to advance their careers in a cutting-edge field, securing top positions as bioinformatics analysts, bioinformatics technicians, biomedical data scientists in universities, research centers, hospitals, or biotechnology companies, as pharmaceutical industry scientists, biostatisticians, or as artificial intelligence (AI) programmers in the biomedical field.

The MSc program in “Bioinformatics – Computational Biology” continually adapts to all modern requirements, taking into account the dynamics of the field through the participants’ extensive experience. The instructors come from a range of scientific fields, and the subject areas covered by the curriculum vary from (a) subjects in modern biological science to (b) applied mathematics and computer science to (c) specialized topics in bioinformatics – computational biology. These, combined with subjects of general interest, the development through seminars, special topics addressing market trends, and the completion of a Dissertation, enable the MSc program to meet the demand for high-level specialized education, providing the essential skills for new scientists to enter the rapidly growing field of bioinformatics.