On Tuesday 21 April, HELS Careers+ supported the Biomedical Engineering Course Team with hosting an employer engagement event, whereby students in their third year of the integrated master’s programme presented their specialist dissertation projects to a range of industry specialists. Katie Whitehouse, from Careers+ talks to us about how it went.
This event was due to take place on campus, but we were really keen to not let the lockdown prevent this fantastic opportunity for the students to interact with these key employers.
Vivek Indramohan, Biomedical Engineering Programme Leader, invited nine employers, and HELS Careers+ were pleased to also be able to extend the invitation to two new employer contacts that had been developed through our partnership work with Medilink. Employers included specialists in rehabilitation engineering, clinical orthotics, dialysis machine innovation, regulatory frameworks, manufacturers of specialist procedure packs and more - from the NHS and the private sector.
The format of the event had to change somewhat as it was being delivered remotely, but Microsoft Teams worked well in bringing everyone together. 11 pre-final year students each delivered a 10 minute poster presentation about their third year projects, to showcase their work and skills to the employers. Employers could ask questions either directly or by using the chat facility on Microsoft Teams. Being aware that there are demands on the Biomedical Engineering sector at the moment to support with equipment and innovations and to address some of the challenges with COVID-19, this event provided opportunity for the students to showcase the skills and knowledge they could bring, and opened up a chance for further discussions about work experience opportunities for the future.
Stef Cope, Employability Adviser, offered support to the students prior to the event with preparing and practising their presentation skills, and also to have opportunity for trial use with the software. She also provided detailed individual feedback to all of the students following the event.
Since the event, Vivek has followed up with all of the employers for the feedback on the students' performance and the format of the event. Already we have had positive responses, with some employers identifying the students and projects they were most interested in and wish to explore further.
Our Student Academic Leaders of the course also provided their positive feedback of the event:
“The Biomedical Engineering Employability Event was the culmination of research given to students by employers over a year ago. The research encapsulated real world problems and encompassed several specialisms of Biomedical Engineering. During the employability event, we as students shared our work through virtual poster presentations. Despite the event having been changed to delivery via an online format in light of present circumstances, it went ahead without a glitch. Employers, The Careers+ team and faculty alike worked together seamlessly to deliver what undoubtedly was an exceptional learning experience for us as students.”
- Anneline Sibanda
“The employer presentation event was a great success despite challenging circumstances changing the format to presenting online. This gave us a great opportunity to present in a different manner to usual, which provided a different set of obstacles to overcome. I feel it also helped prepare us for interviews, as many jobs offer Skype interviews before a face-to-face meeting and this gave us a chance to experience something similar in a safe environment”
- Christina Lawrence
Explore the opportunities
There's a variety of roles and specialisms within Biomedical Engineering so you can work in an area that really interests you.
