Welcome to your Programme

Dear prospective student,

We would like to welcome you to the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) of the University of Groningen (UG) and inform you about the most important issues regarding the start of your BSc degree programme in Biomedical Engineering in 2024/2025.

• To help you make a great start here at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen and specifically in your programme, we have organized a number of activities around the start of your programme, collectively called the ‘Kick-off activities’. We strongly encourage you to attend these.
• On Friday the 30th of August (from 12h), the study association Idun organises the introduction day. It is really recommended to attend this day since here you have the opportunity to meet your fellow students in an informal way. There will be a welcoming speech from the programme and the study association. After that you will meet your mentor and mentor group followed by activites organised by Idun. The day will end with a BBQ. Be there at 11.50h.

• Another great way to get to know your fellow students as soon as possible is the Introduction Weekend, organized by the study association Idun. Details and instructions to sign up can be found in this section.

Accomodation

Finding somewhere to live can be daunting, especially if you are moving to the Netherlands for the first time. around 20,000 students will all be looking for a room at the same time in Groningen so start your search as soon as possible. It is your own responsibility to find somehwer to live. The university of Groningen does NOT provide accomodation for students. We advise that you start looking for accomodation as early as possible since it will be very diffuclt to secure somewhere to stay if you wait too long. Tips of looking for accomodation can be found on the University website.

Start of your BSc degree programme

Your bachelor degree programme will officially start on 2 September, 2024. You can find all locations of our Faculty online. Time tables will be published online as well, usually from 15 July onwards. The programme-specific introduction and other informative sessions throughout the year can be found under the course 'pibme' (programme information BME). To view your complete schedule, select 'program' and choose 'BSc Biomedical Engineering 1st Yr (BME)'. You will enroll for courses during the first lecture week, with the help of your mentor.

Student portal

The 'Student Info' tab of Brightspace (aka as Student Portal) serves as the primary source of information for students. When you log in, you will automatically arrive on the ‘Today’ tab. Please also visit the ‘Study Info’ tab for BSc Biomedical Engineering: it provides detailed information about your degree programme, course units in the programme, etc. Please use your computer account to log on to the Student Portal, and read the relevant information from your degree programme, before the start in September. The contents are expected to be known by every student in the programme. Extensive information about the programme will also be provided during the introduction days.

Mentor

Each student is assigned to a mentor, which is a senior student of the programme. Your mentor is there to help you adjust to university life and your programme in particular. The Academic advisor assists students in finding solutions to any problem encountered while studying and provide information about the degree programme.

Safety instructions

All first-year students receive safety instructions during the second lecture week. Depending on your degree programme, the safety instructions consist of one or two parts. Students from all degree programmes must participate in the theoretical part. Students from degree programmes with laboratory practicals, e.g. Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Life, Science and Technology and Pharmacy, also must participate in the practical part. Time tables will provide information about when and where you will receive the safety instructions.

Refresh Biology and/or Chemistry

While Biology and Chemistry as a subject are not a requirement for Biomedical Engineering, they are a big aspect of the degree programme. One of the courses you start with in September is Mammalian Cell Biology. If you haven’t done Biology as a subject before and/or you want to brush up, you can do this via a series of online videos. Units 2, 3 and 4 are especially relevant. If you’re not entirely sure what ATP is and why it’s so important, what the basic architecture of a cell is, or how DNA gets transcribed to RNA, these videos may help you. Another course, you will have in the 2nd period is Material Science. Watching unit 2 and 4 from the chemistry video series will help in case you haven’t done Chemistry before and/or you want to brush this subject up.

We wish you a pleasant summer, and hope to welcome you in September!

Best regards,

Erik van der Giessen; programme director Biomedical Engineering

Irma Knevel; programme coordinator Biomedical Engineering

Elke Noens; academic advisor Biomedical Engineering