Life Science Informatics (b-it)

The programme is distinguished by its international orientation, its focus on both natural sciences and IT competence, and its high level of integration of research and teaching. The programme is characterised by a significant number of research lab courses embedded in both basic and applied research at the participating Fraunhofer Institutes of Applied Information Technology (FIT) and for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI) in cooperation with regional industry. The Master's programme in Life Science Informatics consists of four main blocks: Computer science and mathematics for natural scientists Basic principles of life science informatics Biology of the cell and systems biology Biomedical data science & AI Major topics include: biomedical database systems management and retrieval of information data mining and machine learning statistical genetics drug design medical imaging and visualisation computational neuroscience computational modelling of regulatory and metabolic networks systems biology and computational systems biology analysis of microarrays biomedical data science and artificial intelligence Special courses and internships on information retrieval, data mining, data science and AI provide a special focus on (or within) the important application domain of biomedical information systems, biomedical data science and AI. The programme also includes training designed to sensitise students to the ethical implications of emerging biotechnologies. The final six months of the programme are dedicated to the Master's thesis, which can be completed in cooperation with partners in the industry. The course contents are structured according to the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). The programme consists of three semesters with lectures/lab work, and a Master's thesis which is written in the final, fourth semester. Lectures are usually accompanied by course assignments which have to be successfully completed by the students. Lab work is a substantial part of the programme. Several of the courses are mandatory; many electives are offered in the later semesters. The programme emphasises the students' early exposure to eminent scientists. Therefore, courses and lecture series with guest researchers who are prominent in their respective fields are offered to students in order to broaden their horizons. One example of how this is achieved is the LSI's International Lecture Series. Every summer semester, students have the opportunity to discuss current topics from the field of life science informatics with a range of highly experienced, international researchers. Moreover, company visits and specific workshops for students complement the lecture series by giving students insights into industrial research topics.