BME for Global Health

Biomedical Engineering for Sustainable Global Health: PhD Scholarships

Health systems are facing complex local (e.g. demographic change, population ageing, sandwich generation) and global challenges (e.g. international health emergencies, antimicrobial resistance, pandemics, climate change, wars, global warming), which led the WHO to introduce in the Strategic Plan 2025-2028 new priorities such as the development of climate-resilient health systems and lowering carbon footprint of health systems and societies. There are several factors pushing this shift into WHO priorities. For instance, in 2024 potential carriers of vector of Nila Virus, Zika and Malaria were found respectively in Canada, Scotland and Italy. Moreover, European healthcare systems are responsible for the 5% of Co2 EU emissions, which is remarkable (e.g., transports account “only” for 15%). As a proxy for demographic changes, a report from a world leading medical device manufacturer estimated that by 2040 one fourth of the European population should work for the healthcare system, to balance the growing request of care due to aging population. This urges the provision of innovative technologies that can protect healthcare workers and free their time from repetitive routinary activities, leveraging on key enabling technologies such as robots, AI, and IoT.

To address these challenges, it is necessary to rethink the organization of health services for the well-being of people and the communities in which they live. To be effective, biomedical engineering need to work side-by-side with experts of sustainability and strength their collaborations with experts of global health, which are the once in charge for the reorganization of healthcare services in most countries. In fact, the conscious use of enabling and transformative technologies can provide safe, effective, and efficient solutions, while simultaneously generating new knowledge and new opportunities for sustainable economic development, in line with the UN SDGs. However, the adoption of innovative technologies is effective and sustainable, as well as safe and efficient, if and only if it is accompanied by an actual reorganization of services. Our community is requested to put global effort in finding innovative and sustainable technological solutions, which may help transforming healthcare systems, following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG2030) and in line with the 5As principles: affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability.

This project aims at fostering the growth of biomedical engineering for sustainable global health via PhD scholarship, open also to candidates from LMICs, which are willing to depp dive into this systematic change.

Health systems are facing complex local (e.g. demographic change, population ageing, sandwich generation) and global challenges (e.g. international health emergencies, antimicrobial resistance, pandemics, climate change, wars, global warming), which led the WHO to introduce in the Strategic Plan 2025-2028 new priorities such as the development of climate-resilient health systems and lowering carbon footprint of health systems and societies. There are several factors pushing this shift into WHO priorities. For instance, in 2024 potential carriers of vector of Nila Virus, Zika and Malaria were found respectively in Canada, Scotland and Italy. Moreover, European healthcare systems are responsible for the 5% of Co2 EU emissions, which is remarkable (e.g., transports account “only” for 15%). As a proxy for demographic changes, a report from a world leading medical device manufacturer estimated that by 2040 one fourth of the European population should work for the healthcare system, to balance the growing request of care due to aging population. This urges the provision of innovative technologies that can protect healthcare workers and free their time from repetitive routinary activities, leveraging on key enabling technologies such as robots, AI, and IoT.

To address these challenges, it is necessary to rethink the organization of health services for the well-being of people and the communities in which they live. To be effective, biomedical engineering need to work side-by-side with experts of sustainability and strength their collaborations with experts of global health, which are the once in charge for the reorganization of healthcare services in most countries. In fact, the conscious use of enabling and transformative technologies can provide safe, effective, and efficient solutions, while simultaneously generating new knowledge and new opportunities for sustainable economic development, in line with the UN SDGs. However, the adoption of innovative technologies is effective and sustainable, as well as safe and efficient, if and only if it is accompanied by an actual reorganization of services. Our community is requested to put global effort in finding innovative and sustainable technological solutions, which may help transforming healthcare systems, following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG2030) and in line with the 5As principles: affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability.

This project aims at fostering the growth of biomedical engineering for sustainable global health via PhD scholarship, open also to candidates from LMICs, which are willing to depp dive into this systematic change.

This project is supported by foundations (e.g., Med’Or), EU projects (such as GATEKEEPER, ODIN, EPoCA, Enkore) and National Research grants (e.g., Afya Moja, “One Health” in Swahili) aiming at bridging research and global health ecosystems across different phases of medical devices lifecycle in which BME are involved: design, manufacturing, clinical and pre-clinical validation, regulations, assessment and management.