As a bioengineering student I believe it can be quite a challenge to find a placement related to the degree. However, I feel like this placement is connected to my course which is mainly why I was drown to it. I was also excited to gain more knowledge about robotics in healthcare, especially since when I first saw tahe placement advertised I did not know much about this subject.
Career Connect
The application process was quite simple. I had to submit a CV and a cover letter. Following this I had an interview in which I was asked questions related to the position I was applying for. In my case the question were related to my research process and the methods I usually use to obtain the information I need.
My main responsibilities ware:-find papers about how the interaction between healthcare robots and users are evaluated-identify the relevant papers and organize the required information-build a robot from first principles using a lego set in order to have a better understanding about the design process and the user's needs
In the beginning a typical day for me was getting to work, settling into my desk and either searching for research papers or reading them. Moreover, I occasionally had meeting with my line manager to discuss my findings and establish ways to keep all the information organized. From about 50-60 hours onward I started building a feeder robot out of lego.
I really enjoyed building the robot, cause I got quite creative with it. I also really liked the meetings with the line manager as I liked the proposed ideas and all the help I was getting.
The challenging aspect of my placement was organizing all the information obtained from research, as the number of papers I used was quite large.
I think my course was a good starting point for getting to know how to find research papers. However, my placement definitely helped me improve my literacy skills.
It definitely has, as I do consider a job that involves robotics in healthcare at the moment.
Do not be afraid to try new things, be creative and do your best!
Form completed: 06 Jul 2018