Outline & Objectives

Health care for unprecedented aging society: challenges and requests

Japan is one of the first industrialized countries to face the problem of unprecedented aging society, with urgent challenges: 1) to improve healthy longevity and high QOL; 2) to suppress medical expenses. A completely new integrated medical system is required, integrating medical care, welfare and home care. This system will support individual life and offer guidance for a good lifestyle to prevent diseases and accidents.

Based on actual medical needs, Kyoto University is expected to develop human resources of the medico-engineering field in an integrated medical system and to train young leaders who can create and guide this system. Up to present, though the cooperation of medicine and engineering has led to some successes, a stepped effort is still required to create a practically useful system. Therefore, the training purpose of this leading program is management and operation.

This program will provide non-medical graduate students with basic medical education, equivalent to medical school graduates. The purpose of this training is to produce a human resource of medico-engineering students, who could understand the social needs, especially in medical and care practices. In addition, through hands-on experience in medical/support care and comprehension of health-care ethics, students will cultivate a sense of how to develop “elderly-friendly” devices and low burden systems for the users. Moreover, based on their understanding of the specific needs in medical practice, and the knowledge of health economics and the licensing system, students will be able to predict industry and market trends on devices and systems. Students will be trained in international standardization, develop professional communication skills and play globally active roles in settings such as the International Organization for Standardization.

 

Expected Effects ~ From Medical Innovation to Medical Revolution~

Super-aging society with high compatibility, to realize the innovative medical and support systems, and create a new medical industry
To lead the world health industry, to extend the healthy life expectancy, and to build a healthy and stable future vision of society
To propose advanced friendly medical care and support systems to the elderly, to establish and to transmit the “Japan model” to foreign countries

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