Prestigious EU grant for Groningen Master’s degree programme

The EU has awarded the University Medica Center/University of Groningen a grant of over € 2.1 million for a new Master’s degree programme with a strong focus on mechanisms of disease and the development of innovative drugs. The new International Master in Innovative Medicine (IMIM) starts in September 2016. It is the only degree programme in the Netherlands to be awarded a grant this year with the EU Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) excellence label.

IMIM is coordinated by the UMCG’s Graduate School of Medical Sciences. In developing the programme, the UMCG/University of Groningen cooperated closely with Heidelberg University (Germany) and Uppsala University (Sweden). In addition, four Latin American universities - Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile), Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) - and nine life science companies participate in the implementation of the Master’s degree programme.

IMIM aims to recruit the best and most motivated students from all over the world with a Bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences or a related field. A total of 43 selected applicants divided over three consecutive student cohorts will receive a full European EMJMD scholarship. IMIM students attend the programme in at least two of the three participating European universities at Groningen, Heidelberg and Uppsala. EU funding is guaranteed until 2020.

The EU uses the EMJMD label to distinguish high-quality and innovative degree programmes that contribute to the employability of its graduates and foster public-private cooperation. The EU requires that participating universities and partners are international as well as that they provide complementary expertise to strengthen their joint educational offer. Moreover, EMJMD programmes are highly selective and students are recruited internationally.

It is no coincidence that Groningen has initiated IMIM. The IMIM curriculum at Groningen is in part based on the selective Top Master Medical and Pharmaceutical Drug Innovation: the programme that was voted the best in its field in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2015 (Keuzegids Universiteiten).

IMIM website: www.innovativemedicine.eu.

Application open until 1 February 2016.