adminLeroy Dzenga Herald Reporter
The Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) has been authorised to offer a Bachelor of Technology honours degree in biomedical engineering, the discipline wrapped around medical equipment and artificial limbs, from the start of the coming semester.
Biomedical engineering is a scientific discipline in which engineering intersects with medical practice and HIT becomes the first tertiary institution in Zimbabwe to have the programme on offer.
Speaking to The Herald, HIT Communications and International Relations Director Mr Tinashe Mutema said the degree programme had potential to improve the country’s healthcare system. “We demonstrated to the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (Zimche) that we have the capacity to offer the degree programme,” he said. “We have qualified lecturers and our laboratories were seen to be fit for purpose.
Biomedical engineering involves the manufacturing of scientific equipment meant to improve public health.
It is through the discipline that consumables like prosthetics, ventilators and artificial organs are designed and produced. The degree programme will run for four years.
Describing career options available to those who take part in the programme, HIT said upon completion, graduates can venture into rehabilitation engineering, bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, biomechanics, clinical engineering and medical imaging systems, among other options where modern medical practice needs engineers and technical experts who understand medical needs.
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