Undergraduate - Bachelor in Health Technology

Are you keeping a close eye on health care? Are you interested in direct contact with patients? Would you love to focus on new technologies in future health care? Would you like to develop new tools from the perspective of a health care professional and an engineer? Then a Bachelors in Health Technology in Rehabilitation is the right choice for you!

The Bachelor Health Technology in Rehabilitation trains you as a physiotherapist with a keen eye for technology. As a physiotherapist you will learn to communicate, think and develop as an engineer. This program is the only one of its kind in Europe. With top-quality professors, a lot of personal attention and the latest medical technologies available as study tools, this program prepares you for a unique position within the future of healthcare; an academically-trained physiotherapist who is both able to attend to patients and develop innovative technologies within primary health care in collaboration with engineers. Graduates hold a unique position as a health care professional ready for a future in care.

The Future of Health Care

The world is changing. Demographic studies report that people become older and older. And even at an older age, people remain active and play an important role as a vital part within their community. The longer people can be a part of the community and take care of themselves, the more they will benefit from a better psychological and functional health.

For people to remain in optimal functional health, their lifestyle needs to be focused on vitality. An active lifestyle with sufficient movement, healthy food and enough relaxation for body and mind. Prevention of becoming frail or restoring vitality is very important

That is where our graduates come in.

As academically-schooled physiotherapist with skills in engineering, our students are in the unique position to develop and create new health technologies from a healthcare professional’s point of view. They can answer to complex health problems using physiotherapeutic prevention strategies, clinical reasoning, advanced diagnostics and treatment plans. But they are also able to incorporate technological innovation within their answers. Our students are a vital part of multidisciplinary teams, on equal terms with general practitioners and specialists, and they can think both ways with regards to technology and functional health in rehabilitation in primary care or prevention. Skills that are thus far unmatched in the medical field, and create new job opportunities as health care professionals of the future.

As a graduate of this program you can work in:

• Physiotherapy clinics;
• Musculoskeletal clinics;
• Rehabilition centers;
• Hospitals;

• Medical technology companies (e.g, Philips, Johnson & Johnson);
• Your own physiotherapy practice;
• Your own medical technology start-up with your own ideas!

The Program

The Bachelor Health Technology is a three-year undergraduate program at SOMT University of Physiotherapy in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. The program is 180 ECTS, which means 40 hours of study a week. Classes are on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with the occasional class on Wednesday or Friday. The other days are for clinical internships and self-study.

The program consists of 12 blocks of each 8-10 weeks, which comes out to 4 blocks per year. Each block contains a different module, which will be the main subject of that particular block. Over the course of three years, the program focuses on the following modules:

• On the move
• Two legs to stand on
• The upper extremity
• Processing digital signals
• Exercise physiology
• The spine
• Pain
• Cardio-lung
• Complexity in Clinical Practice

• Neurology
• Mathmatics
• Biomechanics
• Musculoskeletal Imaging & Clinical Physics
• Artificial Intelligence Big Data
• Human Technology Interaction
• Measuring movements
• Product development – customer communication

Throughout every module run vertical trajectories. These trajectories will return with every module, and are at the basis of everything you learn. The Bachelor of Health Technology focuses on the following trajectories:

• Clinical & Reasoning Skills
• Epidemiology & Statistics
• Functional Anatomy
• Evidence Based Practice

• Academic Skills
• Communication
• Law & Ethics

The Bachelor is concluded with a 10-week clinical internship at a physiotherapy practice, a 6-week internship at a product development firm and a bachelor thesis. Both internships can be arranged in the student’s country of origin, or can be done in the Netherlands.

Graduates receive a Bachelor’s degree in Health Technology.

Getting a Master's

In order to start working as a physiotherapist, students have to obtain a master’s degree. Here, our graduates can take two possible routes:

• Get a Masters in Physiotherapy at the faculty of Human Movement Sciences at Maastricht University. This is a one-year graduate program which, in addition to theory and practical education, also includes a 10-week internship and a master thesis. Graduates receive a Master of Science in Physiotherapy, with which they can apply for a BIG registration to start working as a physiotherapist.

• Get a Masters in Health Technology in Rehabilitation, a two-year graduate program here at SOMT University of Physiotherapy. This master’s program focuses on more advanced technology, such as exoskeletons and robotics, and dives deeper into big data management. This is combined with a 20-week clinical internship as well as an apprenticeship at a technological firm in prevention or health-related products, services or solutions. Graduates receive a Master of Science in Health Technology in Rehabilitation.

EU Charter

SOMT University of Physiotherapy is a European Chartered Higher Education Institute. New modules being developed for the Bachelor of Health Technology are sponsored by the European Union within the Erasmus+: Knowledge Alliance. The accreditation for this program is pending as of December 2021.

As a ECHE Institute, students are able to receive the Erasmus+ Grant. Erasmus+ students receive an allowance to cover the additional travel and living expenses of your study abroad. For more information on the ECHE principles, please click here.

Admission

Dutch students need a VWO diploma with N&T profile, including math A/B, physics and biology.

International students need an International Baccalaureate equal to NLQF 4+ or EQF 4 with English, Math, Physics and Biology.Please check this document for more information on the International Baccalaureate compared to the Dutch Education system.

After applying for the program, you will receive an invitation for a initial interview with the head of the program. This interview is simply to get to know our students, and your application will therefore not be affected by this interview.

Contact & Sign up

Would you like to know more about this program? Or perhaps talk to our professors? Send us an e-mail at marketing@somt.nl, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible! Or fill out the form above, and get the latest updates on this program.

Does this Bachelor sound like the next step for you? You can sign up below!