Career Options
Career Options
Bioinformatics and systems biology are new, up-and-coming and challenging branches of science at the interface of the computer science and life sciences disciplines. Modern molecular biology, biotechnology and medicine rely to an ever greater extent on computer methods; bioinformatics and systems biology are thus essential to the current advances being made in these fields. The goal of the bioinformatics and systems biology course is therefore to train experts at the interface of the computer science and life sciences disciplines so as to advance these innovative emerging disciplines.
In biotechnology, bioinformatics/systems biology are regarded as key technologies. There is high demand for such expertise from industry as it is only by using the methods of bioinformatics that knowledge can be generated from the wealth of biological data (data mining). Large pharmaceutical companies as well as biotechnology start-ups have a high demand for bioinformatics and systems biology specialists.
The knowledge and skills acquired in the technical and methodological modules allow graduates of this course to obtain employment in a variety of professions that can be divided into the following main groups:
- research institutes dealing with high-throughput analysis and/or modelling of biosystems,
- molecular and biomedicine-oriented analysis and diagnostics in industrial environments,
- bioinformatics departments in the pharmaceuticals and life sciences industry,
- providers of bioinformatics system solutions as a service to the pharmaceuticals and veterinary pharmaceuticals industry,
- specialist agencies for patent and information technology.
Work placements in a professional field give students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with a potential working environment. In addition, the entire research- and practice-based approach of the 3rd and 4th semester provides students with a good opportunity to become familiar with different working and occupational settings in research and development.