University College London’s (UCL) Centre for Health Informatics and Multiprofessional Education (CHIME) has announced the re-launch of its MSc Health Informatics.

From September 2007 the revamped programme will be delivered via online blended learning, offering maximum flexibility for students. The MSc is designed for professionals and decision-makers wishing to contribute to the development of high quality healthcare in a technologically advanced and information rich society.

The course covers many of the health informatics challenges currently being tackled by national e-health programmes across the globe, such as the NHS national programme in the UK.

The blended learning programme means that significant portions of the course are completed online, reducing attendance at UCL from three days per month to three days of on-campus activities per module.

UCL says that teaching material is delivered via a virtual learning environment comprising tutorials, chat rooms and other web-based tools. Students can also access professional health databases, hold discussions and submit assignments online.

David Ingram, director of CHIME, commented: "Our aim is to make the course more flexible and accessible to a wide range of healthcare professionals. New teaching techniques mean that studying for the MSc can now be combined with existing career or personal commitments."

The university says its popular MSc in Health Informatics attracts people from a diverse range of backgrounds, including clinicians, information and IT professionals wanting to move into healthcare and others responsible for the management of information sources.

A limited number of part funded EPSRC studentships are available to UK or EU students. Applications for the September 2007 intake need to be submitted by 31 July.

For additional information on the MSc in Health Informatics please visit:

http://www.chime.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/health-informatics-msc/