Oh how time flies when you are having fun. Or when you have a MEDSCI test tomorrow, and a BIOMENG 241 test the week after.
Yep, things went from pretty chill to hectic in absolutely no time at all, and any chance of an actual break during our mid-semester break disappeared (along with my happiness). Things have definitely ramped up for us Biomedical Engineers, and in this post, I want to spill the beans on a stressful time.
First, let’s talk about the MEDSCI. Possibly to my own demise, I am going to stick with my evaluation that I think BIOSCI was worse than MEDSCI. Having finally got some revision under my belt, it is evident the difference in applying knowledge with MEDSCI rather than the rigorous memorization that went on last semester. For example, as you think about the question in your head, it becomes a lot more about working through a flow of body processes, and considering how different parts are intertwined to have an outcome. It also helps that the Labs are highly relevant and actually coincide with lecture topics. My advice would be to 100% attend every lecture, but also attempt the Post-Lecture Activities they have for each class. It’s a great way to reiterate the concepts, or just even hear the jargon again so you remember what it means.
In saying that, I don’t know how well this test is going to go tomorrow, but hopefully as it is multichoice it isn’t too bad. As Cardio-Anatomy lecturer Peter Riordan stated – even the average chimp can guess 20%.
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In other news, I wanted to talk today about Group Projects in BME. I mentioned in my last post that we have one for BIOMENG 241, where groups of 4 are building a hand-held skin colour meter device. Adding on to this, Part Two comes with the ENGGEN 204 course, where we have a group of 10 people writing a report on how Artificial Intelligence is going to affect tertiary education. This is an interesting group project mainly just because of the group size. 10 people to write one report is a big number, and we even found that splitting up the tasks left us with more people than we needed. You’d think it would be chill then, but incorporating the distinct opinions and styles of 10 people into one essay has proven to be quite the challenge, nearly matching the effort put into trying to find a time when we can all meet.
Our final group project we have had this semester came as a bit of a surprise in the last week before Mid-Sem break, during what can only be described as a week from hell with Assignments and Interim Reports due. This project is within BIOMENG 261, and lecturer Vinod had us measuring rates of enzyme-controlled reactions, whilst investigating the effects of pH and temperature. BME does not miss out on the quota of group projects, and I have to say I’m pretty happy about it, getting to work with the people you sit around during lectures and learn a bit more about them. And of course, why not get practice on the communication and interpersonal skills that are so necessary for an engineering future.
MEDSCI btw has no group projects, we are all just loners.
Just before I leave, I thought I’d give a mention to internships and those engineering hours. The Engineering Science and BME Departments are very good at keeping us students informed about companies looking for interns, and I’m receiving at least an email a week notifying us when and where to apply. So don’t stress too much about missing out on details, because it is almost always there for you. Obviously, it is up to you to do the hard part though, but you won’t get anywhere if you don’t submit your CV and Cover Letters, so at least start there. Companies such as Halter and of course Fisher and Paykel Healthcare have caught my eye, but if that doesn’t sound like you then maybe consider doing a Summer Research Scholarship with the university. Applications closed earlier in the year, but for those up and coming BME’s it is definitely a viable alternative that can give you a bit of research experience if that is your thing.
Last semester, BESA (our student association, you should definitely join), held an internship information night, and it was amazing hearing about all the different jobs, countries and roles that our students had been to over their summer.
Anyway, I better get back to study. To any Biomedical Engineers out there, May the Force be With You, and good luck with the next few weeks of chaos.