Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVISInstitute News
Yellow line on the left: So-called automatic segmentation of a liver tumor in the software assistant for follow-up monitoring. Right: Coarsely resolved learning material version with brightness values of individual pixels. Edges created by strong differences in brightness enable the delineation of structures, i.e. segmentation.
When the new school year 2025/26 begins on 14 August 2025, the Oberschule am Waller Ring secondary school in Bremen will offer a program that is unique in Germany: an upper secondary school specialization in digital medicine. It was developed in close cooperation between the school’s upper secondary school and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS. The aim is to get young people excited about the key technologies of modern medicine at an early age and to show them the role that mathematics, computer science, biology, and psychology play in this field.
“With this new specialization, we are offering young people something they won’t find anywhere else,” says Jan Wicke, head of the upper secondary school department. “We wanted to generate interest not only locally, but throughout the city—and we have succeeded: we are starting with 24 registrations from nine different schools across Bremen.”
The specialization covers the subjects of biology, mathematics, computer science, and psychology, and creates space for interdisciplinary projects. In various teaching modules, the young people learn about digital tools that are used in medicine today and will be used in the future: from AI-supported tumor detection in image data to software for therapy planning and simulations of medical processes. Low-threshold tools enable entry without prior knowledge, while more advanced tasks involve complex mathematical and technical aspects.
Close connection to everyday medical practice
The common thread running through the specialization is an interdisciplinary story that reflects everyday life in medical practice. It accompanies a patient from her first visit to the doctor through the diagnosis of a tumor to therapy planning and follow-up care, from the doctor’s perspective. This storyline allows content from biology, mathematics, computer science, and psychology to be linked together. In mathematics, for example, the topic of “probability and statistics” is linked to typical challenges that arise when diagnosing cancer based on X-ray images. And in psychology, one of the topics covered is the emotions that come into play when a patient receives an unclear diagnosis.
In order to maintain a common thread, all teachers will regularly make references to the overarching story. “We have a binding timetable coordination and fixed teaching units in which the subjects are specifically linked,” explains Wicke. The concept is designed to ensure close coordination between teachers, thereby making it clear to students how the respective teaching material is related to the overarching story—and thus to everyday medical practice.
Fraunhofer MEVIS is firmly integrated into the teaching program—with workshops at the institute, digitally connected experts (“Zoom Jumps”), and the joint development of teaching modules. “The students would like to visit our institute regularly—and we try to make that possible for them,” says Bianka Hofmann, Head of Science Engagement at MEVIS. For example, young people can use so-called low-field scanners to acquire and analyze images themselves—a valuable and practical hands-on experience.
Positive experiences from the test phase
During the past school year, selected modules were already tested in a trial run at Walle Secondary School. Although the young people had not specifically chosen the specialization, the topics still aroused their curiosity—even among those who did not necessarily feel confident in mathematics or computer science. “When we embed AI examples in a practical context, students are more willing to engage with them,” reports Jan Wicke. “This also provides a concrete answer to the frequently asked question of what mathematics is actually good for.”
The implementation of the specialization is supported by the BMBF sub-project “#MOIN Campus Neighborhood Visibility,” which fosters focusing on mathematics. “Mathematics is a sticking point for many,” says Hofmann. “Here we can show how central it is to medicine—and how exciting it is when placed in a real-world context.”
“For us researchers, the new specialization is an exciting trial balloon—not only in terms of content, but also strategically,” emphasizes Matthias Günther, deputy director of Fraunhofer MEVIS. This gives the institute a different kind of visibility in the region, one that is not primarily based on scientific publications or specialist conferences, but on concrete points of contact with young people and their families. “Through the students, we also reach their parents, thereby increasing our presence in Bremen,” says Günther. “In addition, this initiative allows us to intensify our communication with the education authorities.”
Motivation and responsibility
He particularly appreciates the sustainable networking that the specialization creates: “It’s not a one-off event, but a continuous collaboration over several years.” The project also has an impact internally: MEVIS employees who develop teaching modules or give workshops experience their work from a new perspective. “We have to prepare our topics in such a way that they are accessible to learners without prior knowledge—and we feel the enthusiasm when their interest is sparked,” says Günther. “This feedback is a real enrichment for many of us.”
With the official launch of the “Digital Medicine” upper school specialization, a new cohort is now starting for the first time that has specifically chosen this focus and, in some cases is willing to accept long journeys to school for it. “This is both an incentive and a responsibility for us,” says Jan Wicke. “And perhaps we can spark an interest in some of them to pursue a career in this field.