Drivers and restrainers of relevance in graduate BME education - A South African study

Academic biomedical engineering (BME) has the potential to address health care needs through the training of graduates able to work in and build the health care technology industry, and through the production of knowledge and research products that can be exploited to enhance health care. This paper explores factors that drive and restrain the relevance of a graduate BME program, i.e. its contribution to health care technology development and utilization, in South Africa, a middle income country with significant health disparities among its population. A focus on clinical and industrial partnerships is proposed.