Our academic year

The academic year of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra is divided in three trimesters. Each trimester has 10-11 weeks of lectures followed by an exam period of 1-2 weeks. In general, the approximate duration is the following:
 
First trimester: mid September-December 
Second trimester: January-mid April 
Third trimester: mid April-June 
Presentation of master theses: July
 
The courses listed below are held during the week (Mon-Fri) exclusively in the afternoon (14h30-20h30).  Activities of the research groups, such as seminars, journal clubs, project meetings, ect. are held througout the day.
 

Core programme

Mandatory core courses (total 15 ECTS)

All three mandatory courses account for 5 ECTS each. 

 

Data Science (first trimester, 5 ECTS)

This course introduces fundamental concepts and mathematical tools in data science, with the aim of preparing students for data processing in computational biomedicine. Specifically, the following topics will be covered: 1) Hypothesis testing; 2) Dimensionality reduction, using machine learning algorithms such as manifold learning, unsupervised learning and principal components analysis; 3) Classification, supervised learning and decision making processes; 4) Applications in Big Data, involving methods such as deep learning. See a more detailed description.

Research Methodology (first trimester, 5 ECTS)

This course covers the major considerations and tasks involved in conducting scientific research. It reviews the graduate studies research context, skills and methodologies. It furthermore introduces the essential aspects in research proposal writing and research reporting. See a more detailed description.

Seminars (first, second, third trimester, 2+2+1 ECTS)

Subject of this course are regular organized interactions between the master students and members of their research group. Apart from the supervisor these will be doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and other senior professors. These interactions include the joined discussion of ongoing scientific projects of different group members as well as the discussion and analysis of scientific articles by others. Master students will make regular presentations on their progress, summarize scientific articles in the reading groups, etc.

 

Elective courses (total 20 ECTS)

Students can potentially take external elective courses offered by others MSc and BSc degrees of our Departments. Important: Since these courses are from other degrees it cannot be guaranteed that places are available. Furthermore, it cannot be guaranteed that the schedules of these courses are compatible with those of our courses. Availability and schedule compatibility must be checked before enrollment. See full list of external courses.

 

The following elective courses pertain directly to our master. They are specifically designed to endorse the student with the expertise required to carry out his/her research projects. The academic coordinator of the master and the supervisor of the student’s research project will help the student to select four courses taking the student’s background and interests into account. All courses account for 5 ECTS each. 

 

Virtual Physiological Human and Digital Twins (first trimester, 5 ECTS)

This subject aims to introduce the students to the digital twin concept applied to the exploitation of the virtual physiological human technologies in healthcare technologies and research. Specifically, it covers: proper classification and modelling of data; integration of real world data and knowledge from experimental models into models and simulations; patient-specific modelling for the mechanistic enhancement of clinical information; verification, calibration and validation of models and regulation of the use thereof.

Advanced Biosignal Analysis (second trimester, 5 ECTS)

The subject of this course is advanced analysis of biomedical signals. In the theory sessions, we will learn about different advanced multidimensional analysis approaches like Multivariate ANOVA and Statistical Parametric Maps. Some nonlinear technique for the study of signal synchronization, based on Hilbert transform, will also be presented. As an example of biomedical signals, we will study why and how human movement is recorded in healthy and pathological subjects. In computer laboratory sessions, the students will implement the signal analysis algorithms introduced in the theory sessions. Furthermore, students will study in detail movement signals recorded in the motion capture laboratory of our university. Finally, they will apply their signal analysis algorithms to these recordings and present their results in a session of oral presentations. See detailed study plan.

Computational Therapies (second trimester, 5 ECTS)

This subject will study the general architecture and implementation aspects of computer-assisted surgery, from planning and simulation to intraoperative navigation and surgical robotics. More specifically the following steps will be investigated: planning of pre-operative trajectories and structures; registration of pre-operative and intra-operative images; tracking of surgical instrumentation; augmented reality; biomechanical deformation models. Lectures will start by introducing the basic theory and existing technological choices. Then, we will analyse and discuss several real computer-assisted systems, also from the point of view of clinical applications. See detailed study plan.

Computational Cardiology (second trimester, 5 ECTS)

This  elective course teaches students how to create realistic computer models of the cardiovascular system. The curriculum includes a review of cardiac physiology and morphology, followed by instruction on generating detailed 3D patient-specific models using multi-modal data. The course focuses on simulating key physical phenomena in cardiology—electrophysiology, mechanics, and blood flow—to study both healthy and diseased conditions and to test potential therapies virtually. See detailed study plan.

 

 

Master thesis (25 ECTS)

The master thesis is carried out along the three trimesters. In the first trimester the topic of the master thesis project is defined and planned by the student and his/her supervisor. The time dedicated to the master thesis increases along the three trimesters. Accordingly, the workload of the courses is decreasing along the three trimesters. In particular, as can be seen in the description above, in the third trimester only 1 ECTS from 'Seminars' is taken.