THA and Hessing Launch Educational Partnership for Bachelor Program in Medical Technology
This collaboration brings out the strengths of both institutions: THA is known for its practice-oriented engineering education and applied research. The Hessing Clinics are among the leading specialized orthopedic hospitals. Patients benefit from the full range of orthopedic treatment options at the highest university level.
“The future of medicine—especially orthopedics—will be shaped significantly by new technical solutions,” says the president of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Prof. Dr. Gordon Thomas Rohrmair. “When we closely integrate clinical experience with engineering development, the result is far more than just a practice-oriented educational program: it gives rise to new ideas and applications that improve diagnostics, therapy, and rehabilitation and can help alleviate human suffering. With Hessing, we have an outstanding partner at our side for this endeavor.”
Practical Studies – Experiencing
Everyday Clinical Practice
Hessing supports the medical components of the degree program by providing faculty, facilities, and clinical infrastructure. The collaboration includes courses and guest lectures as well as workshops, field trips, internships, and student projects. The plan is to deliver course content through in-person sessions held directly at the Hessing Clinics. For students, this means they not only learn about medical requirements in theory but also experience everyday clinical practice firsthand. They gain insights into treatment procedures, the use of medical devices, and collaboration among different professional groups.
“With its University Orthopedic Outpatient Clinic, Hessing Clinics represents university-level orthopedics in Augsburg. In close cooperation with the University Medical Center Augsburg, Hessing therefore also stands for excellence in medicine, research, and teaching,” says Roland J. Kottke, Director of the Hessing Foundation. “We are pleased that, in the future, we will also be able to train medical technology students from the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg at Hessing, thereby making another important contribution to networking in medical education in the region.”
The bachelor program in Medical Technology is housed in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg. It combines technical content such as medical measurement technology, embedded systems, artificial intelligence, and device development with fundamentals of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. In addition, the program covers regulatory requirements, quality management, and market access for medical devices. “The goal of our new program is to train engineers who understand the language and perspective of medicine and who work in a practice-oriented manner,” explains Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Zeuke, program director for Medical Technology. “At Hessing, students learn what requirements technical systems must actually meet in everyday clinical practice. This exceptional proximity to medical practice is a decisive advantage for their studies and their future career opportunities.”