AI and healthcare: a new Master's degree in Luxembourg

What if artificial intelligence could detect heart failure nearly two weeks before it occurs? What seems crazy to some is a certainty to others. As to Amir Hajjam El Hassani, professor at the University of Technology of Belfort Montbéliard (UTBM), deputy director of the Synergie laboratory and… coordinator of the new Master's 2 programme in Artificial Intelligence and Health, which will open its doors for the first time in Luxembourg in 2026.

For the past twenty years, he has been working on artificial intelligence applied to healthcare. For him, the technology is by no means hypothetical; on the contrary, it is already a clinical reality. The question is whether we know how to use it. Few healthcare professionals today have the skills to assess, supervise, or even simply understand these tools, which are already becoming an integral part of their daily work. He possesses these skills, and now intends to share them with Luxembourg, "a country with world-class infrastructure and therefore an ideal setting in which to develop the digital healthcare of the future."

Working alongside him is Myléna Runge, an executive adviser at the Chamber of Employees (CSL) and head of university training at the Luxembourg Lifelong Learning Centre (LLLC), who is leading a project born of the same realisation: to start preparing capable professionals now so that they can drive this transformation rather than simply endure it. "This artificial intelligence," says Amir Hajjam El Hassani, "is certainly not going to replace doctors, but we are convinced – and the doctors themselves are convinced – that those who master it will quickly replace those who do not use it."

From this collaboration between a researcher and a project developer, the LLLC's latest Master's programme will launch this autumn.

Two paths, one destination

Although the Master's programme will not launch until October 2026, its story begins well before then. This is linked to the career path of Amir Hajjam El Hassani, although nothing predestined him to spend his career at the bedside of patients whom he has never operated on himself. Trained as a computer scientist, he has been working in the field of artificial intelligence for some thirty years.

The turning point in his move towards healthcare came some twenty years ago, when he crossed paths with Jules Hoffmann, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine, and his team, including Emmanuel Andrès, now vice-chair of the medical committee at Strasbourg University Hospital. Together, they set about tackling a question that seemed almost theoretical at the time: How can a health problem be detected before it becomes critical? The condition that formed the focus of their initial research was cystic fibrosis.

The reasoning is simple to explain, though more complex to put into practice: "Today, we know how to relieve a patient's symptoms when they are having an attack, but the succession of attacks means that, after a while, the organs fail and the patient dies. So if we can prevent the patient from having a seizure, this might allow us to relieve the strain on their organs and thus give patients a better quality of life." Twenty years on, that initial challenge has given rise to medical devices incorporating artificial intelligence, which are now in use in France and covered by the National Health Service. Amir Hajjam El Hassani, for his part, has continued his career in hospitals across France, Switzerland, Portugal and China, whilst leading the training of engineering apprentices and several Master's programmes at the UTBM, including those now being rolled out in Luxembourg.

The idea of enabling Luxembourg to benefit from Amir Hajjam El Hassani's experience came from Myléna Runge. Years spent building up a network – which she is now drawing on to coordinate the LLLC's university programmes – enable her to stay constantly up to date with the Grand Duchy's needs. "I don't need to be an expert in every field we cover, " she says with a touch of self-deprecating humility, as this role falls to the academic and professional partners with whom the Chamber of Employees works.

Her area of expertise lies in bridging the gap between the practical needs of the Luxembourg market and the specialist expertise of partner universities, such as UTBM, which is responsible for teaching and awarding the degree, whilst the LLLC and the CSL handle the logistics, organising flexible timetables and ensuring a local presence. It is also this complementary approach that sets the new Master's programme apart, reflecting the "CSL's commitment to providing answers where questions arise." Thanks to UTBM and its expertise, "we were able to set it up fairly quickly."

AI: a real turning point for medicine

However, artificial intelligence still sometimes carries rather negative connotations, especially when linked to the workplace. One of the first preconceptions that springs to mind as soon as it is mentioned is the idea that it will completely replace human beings. Amir Hajjam El Hassani dismisses this outright: "No, AI will probably never replace doctors."

"On the other hand, " he warns, "doctors who know how to use it will quickly replace those who refuse to get to grips with it." A conviction shared, he says, by practitioners themselves, whose view of these tools has changed radically over the years.  Whereas such discussions were once considered the stuff of science fiction, healthcare professionals are now actively seeking them out, and "they're ready to work with us on this, whereas 10 years ago, it would have been madness to talk like that, " he explains.

The aim, therefore, is not to teach students how to write lines of code, but to train professionals capable of integrating AI into the care pathway in an ethical, legal, and operational manner. The professor refers to "architects of medical transformation" with a dual expertise: technical and critical mastery of algorithms on the one hand, and in-depth knowledge of the Luxembourg healthcare ecosystem – regulatory framework, data governance, ethical constraints – on the other.

At the heart of this dual expertise lies a concept that future graduates will need to come to terms with: explainability. A doctor making a diagnosis must always be able to explain it, both to their patient and to their peers. Artificial intelligence used in medicine must meet the same requirement, so that the practitioner can make it their own rather than applying it blindly. 

Amir Hajjam El Hassani illustrates the opposite danger with an example he is fond of: "Let's imagine we develop an artificial intelligence algorithm that detects melanomas. We'll train our algorithms on fair skin and achieve exceptional results of 98 or 99 per cent. But when we step out of our laboratory and apply them in real-world settings, where we encounter fair, medium and dark skin tones, the results will be completely different."

The same phenomenon applies to the analysis of radiological images. A model trained on images from standard patients loses its bearings when faced with complex cases from intensive care. Hence the importance for future professionals trained on this Master's programme to know how to scrutinise the data used, to understand its limitations, and to determine precisely in what context a tool can – or cannot yet – be used with confidence.

Such a demand for rigour naturally extends to the issue – sensitive above all others – of health data. Amir Hajjam El Hassani likes to point out that a hacked password can be changed in a few clicks, but that compromised medical data (the presence of a stent, for example) can never be 'removed'. Using health data therefore requires, first and foremost, the patient's consent, followed by compliance with particularly strict security rules.

According to Amir Hajjam El Hassani, this is precisely what the European AI Act is designed to regulate, "which emphasises two things: the datasets being processed and explainability." August 2026 will mark the near-universal implementation of this regulation for so-called "high-risk" devices, a category that encompasses all medical devices that incorporate artificial intelligence. This timing partly explains "the competitive drive", in the words of Myléna Runge, with which the team has relocated this course in Luxembourg.

A Master's degree in everyone's interest

But in practical terms, what does artificial intelligence in healthcare entail? "We need to distinguish between generative AI, such as ChatGPT – which is generally trained on data that isn't necessarily verified – and AI in the medical field, where algorithms are trained on reliable, verified and validated data, " explains Amir Hajjam El Hassani. 

"ChatGPT can produce false information or make mistakes. In medicine, we work with tools where the data is validated, and the scope of application is clearly defined. We're not going to use them on just anyone, in any old way." He cites as an example a remote monitoring platform developed by his team, capable of detecting organ failure up to twelve days before it occurs. This breakthrough sometimes makes it possible to avert a crisis simply by adjusting the patient's lifestyle.

"The fundamental difference compared to a doctor, " he explains, "lies in time: a consultation with a GP lasts an average of twelve minutes worldwide, including getting undressed and dressed. A machine, on the other hand, can review a patient's entire medical history from birth, comprehensively, without missing a single detail." Myléna Runge sees this as an opportunity that is all the more relevant given the staff shortages in the healthcare sector: "If applied correctly, AI could save time. Not necessarily on highly specialised matters, but in terms of handling time-consuming tasks that prevent healthcare staff – with their human touch and all the benefits that brings to patients – from working more efficiently."

The Master's in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare is a Master 2 programme, the final year of a degree course, and comprises 66 ECTS credits spread over two semesters. It is aimed at both healthcare staff and IT professionals. Myléna Runge considers both these groups to be equally valid, as the programme is not so much a degree sought for its own sake as a specialised course designed for professionals who wish to understand and drive this transformation.

As for eligibility, the standard route does indeed require a four-year degree (having successfully completed the first year of a Master's degree), but the LLLC also places great emphasis on the recognition of prior learning (RPL), which enables candidates without the standard academic background to demonstrate that they have significant professional experience – and thus to join the programme directly, subject to approval by a competent panel at the partner university.

Finally, the programme has been designed to avoid the need to choose between a career and further education. Classes will take place in the evenings and on Saturdays during the day, over a period of twelve months, with at least 75 per cent of teaching taking place in person in Luxembourg; only a few one-off sessions may be held online.

In terms of teaching, the Master's programme brings together lecturer-researchers from UTBM, experts from industry, and local speakers, specialising in issues relating to data ethics, law and governance. This approach ensures the programme is firmly rooted in the realities of the Grand Duchy, whose regulatory framework has its own specific characteristics.

What if data processing were to become a robot?

Whilst for the LLLC the announcement of this Master's programme marks the culmination of a long-term planning project, the budding love affair between AI and healthcare is only just beginning. When asked about the next ten to fifteen years, Amir Hajjam El Hassani does not hesitate for long. He believes in an increasingly 'robotised' form of artificial intelligence.

"We'll probably find ourselves in situations where, instead of swallowing a chemical capsule to solve our problem, we'll swallow a robotic capsule which will navigate through our bodies, deliver what's needed, transmit information back and enable truly personalised monitoring. That's my vision."

Whatever the future of medicine may hold, Luxembourg is now well-prepared thanks to the LLLC's new Master's programme in Artificial Intelligence and Health. Applications are now open for the first intake of the programme, starting in October 2026.