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Bioinformatics
Study program name
Bioinformatics
Schools
Doctoral School
City
Barcelona
Duration
Undetermined
credits
Description
This interuniversity doctoral programme builds on and extends existing or planned studies in bioinformatics at the bachelor's level (interuniversity degree) and the master's level (at various universities). The programme is aimed at students who wish to undertake research in this field.
Bioinformatics is a cross-disciplinary field that is experiencing a major expansion, in both academia and the professional sphere (hospitals, the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agri-food sectors, etc.). It is also a field that has a very strong base in Catalonia. Because bioinformatics is a highly interdisciplinary strategic area with significant transnational potential, one of the institutions involved in the doctoral programme is the Bioinformatics Barcelona Association (BIB), which brings together universities, research centres and companies (www.bioinformaticsbarcelona.eu).
The programme brings together the best experts in the fields that bioinformatics encompasses in a programme that is unique in Catalonia and in a way that is aligned with the objectives of the BIB, thus generating greater synergies between biological and computer sciences. Collaboration with other universities provides us with a clear international vision and enables us to set high quality standards that are shared across institutions. These relationships also facilitate the involvement in the programme of experts from various fields of this highly interdisciplinary area, facilitating more effective coverage of the diverse areas that bioinformatics touches on.
The doctoral programme in Bioinformatics aims to produce graduates who are excellent researchers and who have the knowledge and skills needed to contribute new methods, knowledge and tools that benefit present and future users of bioinformatics. High-level research training in bioinformatics opens up a wide range of career opportunities for graduates in academia and many other sectors.
Rationale for the programme
There is strong demand for professionals with high-level research training in bioinformatics to fill positions in hospitals and pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agri-food companies. The explosion of biological data managed by hospitals and companies (the big data paradigm) and the need to design procedures for the correct interpretation of this data in the context of each institution’s specific objectives are the main drivers of this growing demand for specialists with high-level training in bioinformatics.