Tecnun, Merck, and IBM Collaborate to Train Healthcare Professionals in Big Data & Artificial Intelligence

Tecnun, Merck, and IBM have collaborated to train healthcare professionals in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare industry to implement AI opportunities in the transformation of the healthcare sector.

Tecnun’s (an open university that offers undergraduate and graduates degrees in engineering, management, and humanities) partnership with Merck and IBM is aimed at the development of a curriculum to enable working professionals in the healthcare industry to implement artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities in the transformation of the healthcare sector. The training is being anticipated to be carried out in the digital module.

This is a program proposed by Merck, a leading science and technology company specializing in the areas of Healthcare, Life Science, and Electronics, aimed at healthcare professionals and managers in the healthcare sector. It is devised by IBM, a global leader in the hybrid cloud and Artificial Intelligence industry. This training program will allow IBM, Merck, and Tecnun to collaborate to set up a program for training in big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing for professionals in the Biomedical Engineering field from the Centre for Biosanitary Research of the University of Navarra.

By signing this Agreement, Tecnun, Merck and IBM commit themselves to look for synergies in the training offer in order to develop a program to train professionals from superior education institutions such as Tecnun, with the objective of reaching a greater number of young people.

Horacio Morell, President of IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Israel iterated the firm's commitment to training the healthcare sector with the latest digital skills and innovations in the technology space. He said that as a giant in the business technology world IBM is committed to embracing the responsibility of encouraging and promoting joint ventures between several corporate firms and academic institutions. He seemed convinced that as the greater training challenge gap will be bridged, it will proliferate digital transformation. He also pointed out that globally IBM has launched a plan of action to train around 30 million people around the world, in all age groups to upgrade their digital skills, and to help them keep pace with the evolving job requirements by 2030.

According to Miguel Fernández Alcalde, director general manager of Merck in Spain, the healthcare sector is experiencing a renaissance in terms of the incorporation of technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly more applied in the health sector. He said that thanks to AI and the new technologies emerging every day, pharma companies are able to like with little resources and short development time to find innovative therapeutic alternatives. This alliance is meant to spark innovation to generate the maximum benefit to the society by discovering new therapeutic technologies, weighing scientific hypotheses and theories correctly, and improving patient care, diagnostic imaging or individualized medicines as well as several other aspects that contribute to the maximizing the sustainability in the healthcare sector. He also believes that the alliance will improve healthcare, imaging, drugs, and several other aspects that contribute to sustainability.

The application of AI in the healthcare sector will make possible the decrease in suffering, mortality, and morbidity. In summary, this innovation could help us all live better and healthier during our lifetime.

According to Tecnun’s Iñigo Gutiérrez, director of development in the School of Engineering, Tecnun has commenced a culture of entering into life-long training alliances with top-level corporates. Navarra University is known to possess expertise in analyzing healthcare data. Iñigo explained his glee over entering into an alliance with a leading science and technology firm Merck and with an esteemed modern-age tech development company like IBM. Entering into this kind of strategic alliance is the prime focus for Tecnun at all times.

This training program will be an integrated Professional Program at the University of Navarra and will comprise the following two courses:

1. Smart Health Awareness - This is an introductory course designed for health workers, health professionals, and managers that want to approach the whole topic of big data and AI technologies with a critical mind and pragmatic eye. In this course, one can learn how big data and AI are already used in health contexts and how they can be used in the future to improve patient care, provide more efficient services, increase safety and prevent errors. As such, this course will also teach about the potential risks of using these technologies and what precautions should be taken when adopting AI.

2. Smart Health - The Smart Health is a unique, innovative program aimed at healthcare professionals and managers in the health sector, who already have a certain level of knowledge about these technologies and who foresee imminently or are already beginning to carry out this digital transformation in their centers and/or in their implementation. The program consists of two study modules that allow you to gain advanced knowledge, share experiences with other experts from different fields and international organizations, participate in individual coaching sessions and collect practical experiences through working groups.

This program will combine the latest academic knowledge in this area with real-life learning; it will be illustrated with concrete examples from companies that are currently applying AI and Big Data analytics in their processes.

About Tecnun

Tecnun is an organization that specializes in Microsoft solutions and has one of the most competitive teams that help with technology. TECNUN, the School of Engineering at San Sebastián, is one of the leading technology and engineering schools in Spain. TECNUN offers numerous degree programs, including Master's degrees, Technical Engineer Degrees, and Bachelor's degrees. Students can choose from a variety of fields including electronics, computer science, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and civil engineering.

About Merck

Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science, and performance materials.

Our purpose is to solve the toughest problems in life science by collaborating with the global scientific community — and through that, we aim to accelerate access to better health for people everywhere. With roots dating back more than 150 years, we're inventors, problem-solvers, and product innovators.

About IBM

The IBM story started in 1911 with a small staff of engineers and a rented office in New York City. The company sold machinery and equipment to other businesses so they could help their customers do business better. They specialize in Cloud, Mobile, Cognitive, Security, Resiliency services, Financing, and IT infrastructure.