Hey PartI engineers! I’m Jena Kim, your 2024 PartII BME student blogger. Today I’m excited to share why I chose Biomedical Engineering as my specialisation and give you a sneak peek into my first few weeks in BME. But before I do that, I’ll just share a bit more about myself.
- I’m a cat person (meet my 1.5 year old cat Gogi she’s the cutest >>)
- The last book I read was The Skrewtape Letters
- My all-time favourite is What Men Live By by Leo Tolstoy
- I enjoy watching Demon Slayer and Detective Conan
- I love Mozart and J. S. Bach
- However my favourite thing to do is to sleep
- And I look forward to graduate
Why Biomedical Engineering?
You’re almost halfway through your last semester of first-year engineering, and it’s time to choose your specialisation. It’s a tough call for sure, as this decision you make now will shape your next three years or even your whole career. So I encourage you to take this opportunity to think thoroughly about this topic.
When choosing a specialisation, reflect on your enjoyment of first-year courses. Initially interested in civil engineering, after studying a year of engineering, I realised civil wasn’t what I’d enjoy. I also learnt that I’m the type of person who likes to do bits of everything–maths, coding, mechanics, etc. This led me to consider engineering science or biomedical engineering.
The UoA open day also really helped me make up my mind. Talking to post-grads at the engineering stalls, I got the lowdown on engineering science and biomed. But what really fascinated me were the neurofeedback devices and playing Angry Birds with my brainwaves. That’s when I knew—biomedical engineering was the way to go for me. There are other events such as info evenings as well, so I highly recommend you to check those out.
Last but not least, reflect on your life goals. I totally agree that learning should be a joy in and of itself, but at the same time, you should also keep the big picture in mind. My chief end isn’t to glorify myself but to serve and love others. That’s why I went for biomedical engineering—it’s all about helping people.
The First Few Weeks
As I mentioned, BME is a field of study with a very diverse range, so every day’s a new adventure. My days were pretty cool–starting off centrifuging cow blood, then diving into some coding, and wrapping it up crafting coils. But new adventures come with challenges. As someone who’s never taken biology in high school apart from core science, the first few weeks of BIOSCI 107 were a nightmare. Despite the heavy workload and challenging content of BIOSCI 107, I didn’t give up. Pushing through those tough weeks definitely helped me grow.
Since my labs and tests were often at the Bioengineering House, 70 Symonds Street, I always had to take that uphill walk in between classes. Might just be me, but honestly, I like these 10-minute walks—it’s my built-in cardio session! Now with MEDSCI 142 at Grafton campus as well I get even more steps in. (Don’t worry about the transport time as they start/finish the labs quarter past/to.)
Going into my second year, I, as an introvert, was really nervous about the BME & Engsci field trip. Turns out, it was amazing. It wasn’t just me; none of us knew each other yet, and hey, we’re engineers—awkward is kinda our thing. In the end, the trip became a core memory. Here’s why.
First off, it was an excellent opportunity to discover what we actually do as biomedical engineers. I got to learn about different start-ups in BME, chat with biomedical engineers about their day-to-day, and tour the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare facilities—super interesting stuff!
Second, I quickly became very close with many people. Bonding over fun activities, they became my friends to study with daily. Ever since, my study time transformed into a collaborative effort that’s both productive and enjoyable. Plus, knowing everyone in lectures makes them more lively.
(<- Visiting Contact Engergy (left), Learning Taiaha (right))
If you guys want to hear more about the super cool and awesome BME & Engsci trip, or if you have any questions about anything, please let me know in the comments. Otherwise, stay tuned for my upcoming blogs!
BME’s on the super-fast track to the future, and trust me, you won’t regret choosing biomedical engineering.
Thanks for reading this far! Have a great day:)