Search

Armenia became an independent state after breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991. After considerable derangements in the first independence decade, the country's healthcare system has seen some progress recently in terms of improving existing and developing new services, diversification of financing, with the introduction of public benefits, private domain and health insurance. The Information and Communication Technologies sector is one of the country's most dynamically developing and competitive industries. Despite that, Armenia has had modest achievements in eHealth and telemedicine so far. Centralized eHealth policy, administration and infrastructure are as yet absent, Health Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and applications are very slowly making their way into mainstream healthcare practices, and there are few regular telemedicine activities. Some revival of the field in the recent years is primarily related to consistent efforts by the authorities to develop eHealth, and the emergence of the national professional organization – Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM).

Biomedical Engineering (BME) is a modern and dynamic specialty that is predicted to grow over the next decades, partly due to increasing penetration of technological processes and devices into the healthcare system and medical practice, education and research. BME education is regarded as an important tool to support development of healthcare systems and medical industry. BME education in Armenia has been present at certain higher education institutions (HEIs) for some period of time, however the existing study programs need to be updated according to modern standards and practices, and the capacity of the institutions delivering the program needs to be expanded. The 3-year curriculum development project ”Biomedical Engineering Education Tempus Initiative in Eastern Neighboring Area” (BME-ENA) financed through the EU’s Tempus IV funding instrument, involves 17 institutions from 11 EU and ENA countries and is aimed primarily at development and implementation of an innovative joint MSc program in BME amongst the participating universities. Armenia is represented by two leading HEIs – the State Engineering University of Armenia (SEUA), and the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU), and an NGO working in the field of medical technologies – Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM). The project team from Armenia has by now held several working meetings locally and with the international partners, which have resulted in development of the new curriculum outline for the joint BME program, incorporating approaches and recommendations of the European project partners. The BME-ENA project is expected to provide an important platform for modernizing BME education in Armenia and bringing it in accordance with current European standards.