Common European MAster's CoUrse in Biomedical Engineering (CEMACUBE)
1st Year: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
2nd Year: University of Groningen, The Netherlands
In this article SL2College spoke to a student in the Common European MAster's CoUrse in Biomedical Engineering (CEMACUBE) programme. She had graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Electronic & Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa before starting the CEMACUBE programme.
The two years in her CEMACUBE programme provides two degrees, one from each university - 1st Year: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and 2nd Year: University of Groningen, The Netherlands. The 1st year is a general degree while the 2nd year is a specialisation. In the article, this student gives more information on this unique Masters programme and her 1st year experience in Ireland.
Erasmus Mundus
'Erasmus Mundus' is the European Union Higher Education Scholarship Programme. It is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field of higher education aimed at enhancing the quality of European higher education, promoting the EU as a key learning centre and promoting intercultural understanding through cooperation with third world countries.
CEMACUBE
CEMACUBE is one dimension of the Erasmus Mundus programme. The CEMACUBE Erasmus Mundus Master's course started in September 2010. It is the 1st Masters programme in biomedical engineering. The goal of the course is to prepare students from Europe and outside Europe for professions in Biomedical Engineering. A consortium of 6 universities participates in this 2-year European Master's programme in Biomedical Engineering. It provides students with specific expertise and knowledge in all sub-specialisations of Biomedical Engineering at an adequate level that also shows the scope of this field in Europe.
Biomedical engineering encompasses a broad range of fields including bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, biomechanics, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, neural engineering, rehabilitation engineering and biomedical imaging. The CEMACUBE programme is an ideal choice for students who are interested in this field but do not have much background in most specializations in the area.
Course Structure
The detailed course structure and a list of consortium and associated universities, is provided on the programme website at http://www.biomedicaltechnology.eu/. As mentioned on the website, CEMACUBE master's course students can switch up to three times among different countries and cities. The first three semesters can be followed in Aachen (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Ghent (Belgium), Groningen (The Netherlands) and Prague (Czech Republic). In the fourth semester there are seven more universities students can choose to go to.
The programme is mainly a "taught Masters" so there is limited time for a student's own research projects. The programme consists of 2 years of 2 semesters each and two Masters Degrees would be awarded at the end of this programme.
The 1st year (2 semesters) is designed to give a broad understanding of all aspects of biomedical engineering at one of the 6 consortium universities. In the 2nd year, the 3rd semester is designed to give a specialization of a subfield of the student's choice at a consortium university that specializes in the field. It is this university that would offer your second Masters Degree.
The 4th semester involves an individual Master's project, which could be a research/design assignment. Depending on the specialization preference of the student, the project could be performed at either the university you attended for your 3rd semester, or at one of the associated universities of the programme. Although projects are supposed to be one semester, students begin quite early – perhaps initially on a part time basis before working on the project full time. The course structure is slightly different in various universities, which also causes changes in course structure and requirements for completion of Masters.
A student can opt for this programme versus a more traditional Masters programme to gain an understanding in Biomedical engineering in the first year, prior to determining a specialization in the second year. One of the greatest benefits of the programme is the opportunity for mobility which allows a student to gain experience with different healthcare settings, research communities and specialized areas in universities pertaining to this field. The experience of living and studying in multiple countries and universities would be an enriching experience.
Application Process
For the CEMACUBE programme
The programme reserves at least 15 places for non-EU students. The call for applications would be announced in the course website. It starts in October and the deadline for non EU students is 1st of December.
The English requirements are based on the IELTS (test score of 6.5) and TOEFL (test score of 580 in the paper-based test, 237 in the computer-based test or 92 in the internet-based iBT). The programme application details, including the selection criteria and the application package, are described at http://www.biomedicaltechnology.eu/index.php/apply-now.
Students have to send the whole application package as a softcopy with all documents scanned and compiled into a single PDF file. They also have to ensure that references are sent via email to the programme by the deadline date.
The selection panel shortlists students from all the applications received. Members of the selection committee conduct interviews on Skype prior to making a final decision. The letter of motivation/statement of purpose and work experience can play a key role in making the application successful. See http://www.biomedicaltechnology.eu/index.php/admission-procedure/selection-criteria/105-letter-of-motivation for specific suggestions regarding developing a good letter of motivation.
Once selected for the CEMACUBE programme and the university of study for the 1st year is confirmed, selected students are contacted by the local coordinator of the university around April/May. Students are asked to apply to the university which is a separate process since each university has their own rules and regulations. Hence, the time taken for the registration process also differs for different universities.
The student can indicate his/her choice of universities, however the student may not always get into his/her university of choice since selection is dependent on availability of places for non-EU students. Once selected the student would be added to the CEMACUBE students' Facebook group which provides information regarding the application process, accommodation, etc.
Course/Class/Programme
There is one intake every year. Students have to apply to the CEMACUBE programme and the MSc in each university starts around September.
The student we spoke with said that the class size was quite small at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. The courses were interesting and challenging, especially for a student with limited exposure to the medical aspects of the programme. The classes at Trinity were of high standard. As in any other programme, students have to put effort into their work to get the best out of it, which would be reflected in knowledge obtained and academic grades. Students can truly enjoy this university's cooperative learning environment.
Accreditation
Two Masters Degrees are awarded at the successful completion of this programme. Therefore, accreditation would depend on the level of accreditation of the individual degree from each university. At Trinity College Dublin (which is accredited by the government of Ireland), the programme followed was no different than the regular MSc Bioengineering programme there. In fact, each Erasmus course is connected to regular MSc courses in the universities. Prospective students should check if the university they are interested in attending has been accredited by the government of the country in which it is situated.
Scholarships
Sri Lankan students belong to Category A (non EU) students. For non-EU students, full Erasmus Mundus Category A scholarships covering all costs for a period of two years up to a maximum of €48000 are available. This comprises tuition fees, travel allowance and a monthly allowance. If a scholarship is required, students should indicate this in the funding related segment of the application.
Often, tuition fees vary between universities and living expenses also vary based on the city. For more information on tuition fees, please refer to http://www.biomedicaltechnology.eu/index.php/admission-procedure/tuition-fees.
Visa process, costs involved & settling down
Getting a visa, finding suitable accommodation and settling down can seem daunting, partly due to language differences that you would expect to encounter. However, these are issues that could be overcome relatively easily as the university staff and students are very helpful in helping students acclimate. All universities offer language courses if the first language of the country is not English.
The type of visa you get and the visa process (application, documents required, etc) could be slightly different based on the country. Some EU universities assist in getting the visa, while for others you need to apply for the visa separately. Most European countries have a visa/resident permit which could be used as a "Schengen" visa. "Schengen" is an agreement between certain EU countries that gives mobility for people to travel between countries without the need to apply for separate visas to travel from one EU country to another (except for certain countries like UK, Ireland). Ireland does not belong to Schengan area and the Irish visa is not accepted as a Schengan visa. For Ireland, the details on the visa requirements could be found at the following websites:
http://www.inis.gov.ie
http://www.dfa.ie
For the Irish visa, it is required to lodge the visa application at least 6-8 weeks earlier than the intended day of travel. It is recommended to apply as early as possible since the consulate has to send all the documents to the Ireland Embassy in New Delhi, India, for approval of the visa. Once it has been approved by the Ireland Embassy in New Delhi, India, the consulate would contact you and ask you to bring the passport to the consulate in Colombo to stamp the visa. At this point you would be issued a 3-month visa to enter Ireland.
Once you get to Ireland
Visa for Ireland
When you go through immigration upon landing in Ireland, you would get a green card. You would need to go to the Garda (the security force of Ireland which handles police/immigration/visa) within one month, with the green card and the relevant documents to extend the visa. The documents you need for the extension and the process of making appointments can be found at http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Students.
The visa extension costs €150 which is only payable by bank card. Once the visa is extended, you would receive a GNIB card (like a national ID). The GNIB card is requested at embassies if you apply for travel visas.
Traveling Outside Ireland
If you plan to travel outside Ireland, make sure to get the multi-entry visa for Ireland before applying for visas to any other country. The multi-entry visa also has to be applied at the same Garda office to which you would go to extend the visa and is given free of charge to Sri Lankan citizens.
If you want to travel outside EU, you could contact the relevant embassy website for details regarding the visa process and get an appointment. Most embassies are located in Dublin. If you plan to travel in one country of the Schengen area, you would need to apply to the embassy of that country. If you are visiting multiple Schengen countries you would need to apply to the embassy of the country that you are spending most nights or if the number of nights are going to be the same, the embassy of the first visiting country.
Accommodation
Accommodation in Dublin is quite expensive, compared to other cities in Ireland and other European countries.
University Accommodation
University accommodation could be requested after your application is accepted. In Trinity College Dublin, accommodation comprises on-campus student housing, off-campus housing close to the university and off-campus student housing, which is located about 4.5 km away from campus. Getting a room on-campus or near the campus could be difficult, especially if you are coming for a MSc rather than PhD. Most new students reside at off-campus residences.
The off-campus residence is large with all modern facilities. The details of accommodation rates could be found at the university website. It is quite expensive, especially if you need to pay for transportation to go to the university. However, the facilities are very well maintained and it is good place to start if it is your first time settling down in another country. You have the option of starting out with university accommodation from September through December and moving to an off-campus location once you are more aware of options/locations. However, be sure to inform of your move on-time as the university accommodation office enforces payments unless sufficient notice is given prior to moving to an off-campus location.
Private accommodation
Finding a private place to stay in Dublin prior to your arrival in Ireland could be difficult because private apartments require you to come for a viewing beforehand to meet the flatmates and see the apartment. However, there are instances where a set of people of the programme get together to find a good place together. You could also contact landlords and if you start the search early enough you can try to arrange a place via these websites. www.daft.ie, www.rent.ie , www.property.ie. Daft is the most popular one.
In finding a place, try to select one close to the university so you could walk and save on transport. Trinity is in Dublin and is in the heart of the city. Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 (even numbers), are closer to the university. These are city zones (and also postal codes); Dublin is divided into areas like these. If you want to live alone, look for studio apartments. They are more expensive than a shared flat but there are relatively cheaper ones outside city centre in Dublin 4, 6 and 8 areas.
General Life
One thing you would need to know beforehand is there is not much of a Sri Lankan 'community' in Ireland. However, people in Ireland are very friendly and it is very easy to settle down. It is interesting to experience the culture of Ireland and make friends from different countries. English is the everyday language. The city of Dublin has lots of character and it is small enough to walk to most places in the city centre. Be prepared to handle rain and wind!
Transportation
Since housing might be far from the university you may need to take the bus, Luas (inner city rail service), Dart (the general train) or cycle.
Bus
The Dublin bus service http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/. Bus Éireann is the intercity bus service and can be found in other cities too: http://www.buseireann.ie/. Citylink http://www.citylink.ie/ and Gobus http://www.gobus.ie/ are other intercity bus services.
Once you get a student travel card, you could get a student bus card for 7, 15 or 30 non-consecutive days for unlimited travel per day with any Dublin bus. Note that if you give cash for your fare, the driver will not give back the change. So you would need to have the exact change or go to the Dublin bus office with your ticket to collect the change.
Rail
Luas also has student fares, details of which could be found on the website http://www.luas.ie/. Luas operates within the city and rail connection to outside city is made through the train service called as the Dart http://www.irishrail.ie/home/.
Cycling
Cycling is also an option. However, be careful as often there is no separate cycling lane in the city centre roads, and cyclists and the bus share the same lane. Cycling in Dublin is not as popular as it is in other European countries.
The student travel card
This gives student discounts in transport services as well as in some shops. You could get this card at the university.
Banks
Most banks require a letter with proof of your address to open a bank account.
Shops
Things are expensive in Dublin. Dunns, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl are the main supermarkets. Boots is a pharmaceutical chain that gives student discounts for the student travel card. Pennys is a cheaper clothing store which has quite a good selection of things for a more affordable price. To get Asian groceries, there is a market located quite close to Trinity: http://www.asiamarket.ie/, which also gives a student discount of 10% if you show your student card. Some other Asian supermarkets can be found at http://www.yelp.ie/search?find_desc=asian+supermarket&find_loc=Dublin.
Experience Ireland
There are a lot of interesting places including places of historical significance and places of natural beauty in Ireland, both in and around the city of Dublin and in the other parts of Ireland. Howth has beautiful cliffs providing a hiking path; Bray has an old tourist centre; Malahide has an old castle; Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough lakes provide more hiking trails and are ideal places close to Dublin city for a day out. Apart from Dublin, Galway is one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland. Cliffs of Mohor and Aran islands have some breathtaking views. If you get a chance to go to Belfast in Northern Ireland (you need a UK visa), take a bus tour to Giant 's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. At the present time, the visa fee is 76 Euros and valid for 6 months.
Some final thoughts
- Remember that the programme is mainly a "taught masters" - so there will be limited time to work on your own research projects. Since students get a background in biomedical engineering, it is a compromise between doing a research project of your own for the most part where you focus on a specific area, versus getting a broader but more theoretical knowledge of different fields. Students don't really have time to do another research project of their own while doing lectures, as the workload in the subjects you follow is enough to fill the time. It is also possible for students to get PhD placements in the labs where they do their Master's project.
- Be prepared to multitask. Think and plan ahead regarding visas, registration with a second/third university, accommodation, etc, to minimize last minute stress.
- Be open to new experiences, cultures, languages and different ways of doing things.
- Have a positive attitude to change as that is what you are signing up for.
The views expressed in this article are solely that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of SL2College. SL2College would like to thank the author for sharing the information and her experience. Aindri Hurulle from the SL2College editorial team is also thanked for working with the author in developing this article.
Date of publication in the Sunday Observer: October 30, November 6 and 13, 2011 (in 3 parts).
This and other related articles are available on www.sl2college.org, under the resources section. SL2College is a global community that provides FREE advice and guidance to Sri Lankan students. Envisioned in 2005, SL2College helps Sri Lankan students access relevant information that would assist them in making informed decisions about their educational goals. Please post your queries on: www.sl2college.org or email info@sl2college.org.
