P. Janssen
Center for Statistics, Limburgs Universitair Centrum, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
E-mail: paul.janssen@luc.ac.be
Biometrics is an exciting scientific field in which statistical practice and methodology go hand in hand with research in agriculture, biology, medicine, etc. Indeed, the rapid growth of biological and medical research promises that, on a worldwide scale, the need and the role of biometricians/biostatisticians will continue to grow.
The MSc in Biostatistics at the Center for Statistics of the Limburgs Universitair Centrum (LUC) welcomes people with a university degree who seek to specialise in biostatistics. Students mainly come from mathematically oriented fields. Graduates from other scientific fields can also apply provided they can prove excellent mathematical skills.
The Center for Statistics offers a well-balanced, fine-tuned programme with lecture courses, homework assignments, hands-on experience and papers all focused on the same subject: biostatistics. The teaching staff consists of seven professors and five staff members from the Center for Statistics and seven professors from different universities in Belgium, each a specialist in his/her field. Renowned visiting professors from abroad also regularly teach in the programme. A practical training in industry or in a scientific institute is a compulsory part of the programme; it is much appreciated by the students.
The MSc in Biostatistics, offered by LUC, is one of the international courses supported by the Flemish inter-university Council (Flanders is one of the three regions in the Kingdom of Belgium). For many years Flemish universities have been involved in co-operation with a selected group of universities in developing countries and the support of academic institutions overseas in programmes that contribute to the availability and quality of education and research in the southern part of the world (South Actions Programme). Flemish universities are also keen to share specialised development-related knowledge and experience with foreign students through international training programmes and international courses organised in Flanders (North Actions Programme). The MSc in Biostatistics is one of these international courses. To facilitate access to these programmes for students from developing countries, the Flemish inter-university Council provides, for each of the programmes, a limited number of scholarships. For the MSc in Biostatistics the number of grants per year has ranged from seven to ten over the past five years. Since 1991 the following numbers of students from the East and southern Africa region covered by this workshop have enrolled: Kenya (7), Malawi (3), Tanzania (1), Uganda (3) and Zimbabwe (3).
These can be described in three ways.
Data collection is a typical aspect of modern research. Appropriate ways to present data (graphically), to handle data (summary statistics) and, especially, to interpret data, require a profound statistical knowledge. It is at this level that the biometrician will bring in his expertise. The domains of application include experimental studies in agriculture and biology (e.g. crop and livestock research), studies in ecology (pollution problems), public health research (epidemiology) and medical research (clinical studies). In collaboration with researchers the biometrician translates the relevant scientific questions into appropriate statistical models. The statistical inference for these models, based on well-collected and clean data, provides the backbone of good scientific conclusions. Therefore, a well-trained biometrician should be able to:
Practical realisation: We believe that these objectives are essentially reached by the programme that we have developed. An overview of the courses is given in Table 1.
The biometrician will be able to provide the appropriate statistical inference (output) for the scientific questions under consideration when he has good expertise in the use of statistical software.
Practical realisation: All students in the programme have free access to the `statlab' (statistical laboratory). The computers and statistical software are for the exclusive use of the biostatistics students. Students rely heavily on the available statistical software for most of the homework assignments and for all the project work. Available software include SAS 6.12 and S-Plus 2000 amongst other more specialised packages.
The biometrician is a member of a multidisciplinary team. He therefore should have good communication skills. Moreover he should be able to deliver clear scientific reports.
Practical realisation: Students are given (weekly) homework for all courses. Students hand in written solutions by the next course lecture and receive feedback from the lecturer one week later. Homeworks are sometimes replaced by project work. Students hand in written reports on their findings. Oral examinations are part of the verbal training of our students. More formal ways to develop the communication skills of our students are through a number of courses, e.g. statistical reading, scientific reporting and practical training.
For their practical training students take part in ongoing studies in pharmaceutical companies, medical research institutes, institutes for public health etc. The idea is that, in collaboration with the researchers responsible for the study, the students formulate relevant statistical questions for the study under consideration and perform the corresponding statistical analysis based on statistical models whose validity they are required to demonstrate. They write a final report on their project work. Each student gives an oral presentation of his/her project, followed by a defence of the work and answering questions from a committee of staff teaching in the programme.
Finally, students are welcomed from developing countries and, as described above, many have successfully applied for scholarships and enrolled in the programme. We believe that the programme is well structured and provides the necessary training for prospective applied biometricians in the developing world. This will be further strengthened with increased links with universities in East and southern Africa and a regional grouping of biometricians that can maintain links with the students once they have returned to the region on completion of their studies. In future, the region might also help LUC select candidates for the MSc programme so as to increase the impact of the course in the countries concerned.
Table 1. International course programme: M.Sc. in Biostatistics at Limburgs Universitair Centrum.
Description |
Hours |
Credits |
First year |
||
First quarter (October-December) |
||
A1 Exploring data |
15+15 |
3 |
A2 Statistical computing packages |
15+15 |
3 |
A3 Regression |
15+15 |
3 |
A4 Analysis of count data I |
15+15 |
3 |
A5 Mathematical tools for statistics |
35+35 |
7 |
Second quarter (January-March) |
||
A6 ANOVA |
15+15 |
3 |
A7 Analysis of count data II |
15+15 |
3 |
A8 Multivariate techniques |
15+15 |
3 |
A9 Survey methodology |
20+20 |
4 |
A10 Time series |
15+15 |
3 |
Third quarter (April-June) |
||
A11 Data management |
15+15 |
3 |
A12 Statistical reading |
15+15 |
3 |
A13 Computer intensive methods in statistics |
20+20 |
4 |
A14 Practical training and project |
15 | |
Second year |
||
First quarter (October-December) |
||
B1 Topics in statistical inference |
20+30 |
4 |
B2 Nonparametrics |
15+15 |
3 |
B3 Advanced linear modelling |
20+30 |
4 |
B4 Categorical data analysis |
20+30 |
4 |
B5 Medical biology |
15+15 |
3 |
Second quarter (January-March) |
||
B6 Nonlinear statistical models |
15+15 |
3 |
B7 Longitudinal data analysis |
30+25 |
5 |
B8 Dependent and incomplete data structures |
30+25 |
5 |
B9 Epidemiology |
15+15 |
3 |
Third quarter (April-June) |
||
B10 Survival analysis |
30+25 |
5 |
B11 Genetic statistics |
15+15 |
3 |
B12 Clinical trials I |
15+15 |
3 |
B13 Clinical trials II |
15+15 |
3 |
B14 Topics in clinical trialsb |
15+15 |
3 |
B15 Bayesian data analysisb |
15+15 |
3 |
B16 Scientific reporting |
15+15 |
3 |
B17 Practical training and reporting |
100 |
6 |
a. T = theory (lectures, discussions...); P = practice (tutorials, laboratories...).
b. One course chosen.
