Professional Development

Biomedical engineering’s Career Symposium returns for its third year

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:10:17 +0000

Biomedical engineering’s Career Symposium returns for its third year Alexander Jame… Fri, 10/11/2024 - 14:10

Alexander Servantez

More than 160 CU Boulder students put on their best business attire on Monday for the third annual Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium. Their mission? Go toe-to-toe with the workforce.

The symposium, organized by the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and run by students, provided an opportunity for students to connect and learn from various company representatives in the med-tech industry. It featured company information sessions, company tabling, product demonstrations, and one-on-one meetings with experienced industry professionals.

Fourteen companies and organizations, including CONMED, Medtronic and others, were in attendance to recruit some of Boulder’s finest aspiring biomedical engineers. In past years, students have received job and internship opportunities with the help of the symposium. At the very least, students walked away with valuable insight into the diverse career paths the industry has to offer.

This year’s iteration of the event looked a little different. Students were required to attend a ProReady workshop in order to register for the symposium. Designed by Engineering Career Services, the ProReady initiative supports student career development, and these workshops helped prepare students to speak to company representatives in a professional setting.

“Last year, we had companies telling us that students were struggling to interact with representatives,” said Vivian Shi, a third-year student and BMES Career Symposium Committee member. “This year, our biggest focus was changing that, and I think we did a good job.”

A BME student chats with a company representative at the 2024 BME Career Symposium.

Many of the students in attendance echoed some of those same sentiments. BME senior Christian Moon, who has been to multiple career symposiums, saw first hand how the workshop and symposium has affected his comfortability and confidence.

“Being able to practice interviews is nice,” Moon said. “It can be awkward to talk to people and talk about yourself. But it’s good practice and useful when interacting with people who are actually in the industry.”

Putting together an event like this is no easy task. On top of their own individual coursework, the BMES Career Symposium Committee spent long, tireless nights bringing the ballroom to life for their fellow BME classmates.

Clare Keeler, BMES Career Symposium committee chair, recalled the extensive planning involved, including difficulties wrangling commitments from companies or finding the perfect room arrangement. However, seeing vibrant and life-changing relationships being built during the event made all their hard work worth it.

“Overall, it makes me very happy that I was able to provide this experience for other students. It was a really long process dating back to April. My goal was to expand the symposium, and it just feels amazing seeing it come to life,” Keeler said.

Some company representatives gave their praise for this year’s symposium, including CONMED representative and former CU Boulder alumna Mia Fox.

Fox co-founded the BME Career Symposium and was a part of the BME program’s first graduating class in 2023. She knows first hand just how difficult coordinating this event can be, and she was proud of the committee for building on the legacy her class started during her time on campus.

“The committee has done a good job taking feedback from both students and company representatives,” Fox said. “They ran with that and they did a really good job.

“This event is unique. It’s different. It’s run by students, for students. I hope everyone continues to see the importance in that going forward.”

More than 160 of CU Boulder's finest Biomedical Engineering students attended the third annual Career Symposium in search of post-college opportunities.

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Summer intern brings fresh perspective to CU research lab

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 20:30:23 +0000

Summer intern brings fresh perspective to CU research lab Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/01/2021 - 14:30

Jesse Duran, a senior at Fort Lewis College in Durango, spent the summer working on research projects in the lab of Shu-Wei Huang, an assistant professor in the Biomedical Engineering program.

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Biomedical engineering career paths

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:43:42 +0000

Biomedical engineering career paths Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/31/2021 - 13:43

Demand for biomedical engineers in the United States is high, and it’s only going to keep growing.

Employment for biomedical engineers is expected to grow five percent by 2029, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That translates to about 1,400 biomedical engineering job openings each year, for a total of 22,200 biomedical engineers being employed in 2029.

“The future is really bright for these students because of this possibility,” Professor Mark Bordon, the program director for the University of Colorado’s Biomedical Engineering Program, said. “It’s a popular major because it deals with something that’s a fundamental importance to everybody. Which is how does the human body work. It’s at the intersection of medicine and engineering.”

Career paths for CU Boulder BME students

Biomedical engineering students at CU Boulder get a multi-disciplinary education in chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering to prepare for their future careers. The coursework gives them the skills to go into one of three fields: industry, research or medical school.

Industry

MedTech
- Develops medical devices to detect and treat disease, improve quality of life and improve human performance
Consulting
- Work with medical organizations, research institutions and companies to provide guidance and recommendations
Clinical Engineer
- In a hospital:
  - Purchase, install and maintain hospital equipment
  - Work with physicians and patients on using the technology
- In a clinical trial:
  - Perform trials on new medical technology and devices

Industry Professional Development

Research

Biomedical research is well-funded
- The National Institutes of Health 2021 budget was $43 billion, compared to the National Science Foundation's budget of $8.5 billion.
- More funding means more research opportunities
Various PhD programs available
- Inside discipline: Biomedical engineering PhD
- Outside discipline: Other engineering programs or schools of medicine

Research Opportunities

Medical School

Pursue a medical degree to become a physician or surgeon
Doctor and surgeon positions are expected to grow five percent by 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pre-Med Opportunities

Biomedical engineering students have multiple opportunities in the job market; including careers in the industry, in research or at medical school.

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