Biomedical EngineeringEma Strakova
Ema is an international student from Slovakia, currently studying with us for her BEng (Hons) in Biomedical Engineering.
Why biomedical engineering?
I have always been very clumsy, resulting in me having to have quite a few trips to the hospital.
As my mum is a doctor, I was able to get the ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge of how the different machines (like MRI, x-ray or CT) worked. I still remember how my mum showed me the MRI of my brain on the slice where your eyes are visible and we laughed about it.
This all nourished my interest and love for medicine, even though I was not really conscious of it. I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor, and was frankly drawn a lot more into creative fields like architecture. But then I fell in love with physics and during research on a project I was doing at school, stumbled upon the field of biomedical engineering. And that is when I knew what I wanted to study.
The biggest issue for me was where to study this degree, as there were no options in my own country and the Czech Republic only provided a technician position. Most of the European countries only taught in their native language and I was sure I would not handle physics in French or Spanish.
So I started looking at the universities in the UK. I found Strathclyde and the interactions with the staff prior to applying, as well as my experience coming to the open day, really amazed me. The course was exactly what I was looking for, the university had a very good rating, and I felt very welcomed by the people. Plus, I really enjoyed the campus. And with all of this put together, Strathclyde became my top choice university!
(BEng) Biomedical Engineering
I really like that it is a small course. Compared to the other engineering classes, which have around 200-300 people in them, we are tiny, and I love it. You have the chance to get to know people who go to class with you. Networking is so much easier, and you also get a lot more of a personalised approach during the classes: you can ask more questions, get more help, simply because there are less people who need assistance.
It is also amazing how much lab time we get! I think that labs are my favourite part of our studies, as they really show you what happens in real life and let you test your book knowledge. And it gives you the little happy kick of feeling like a real engineer!
In general, I have found the staff incredibly helpful. They don’t mind us asking any questions, I have in fact been told that they enjoy the questions because it means someone is listening to them.
They are helpful when dealing with personal circumstances or problems, such as MyPlace presentations not showing up. It is really nice to see that they too are just people and they understand you may have struggles or other issues coming up in your life, and they don’t expect you to have no life outside of university.
I have honestly been pleasantly surprised multiple times by just how willing they are to help.
Studying my course is hard, as any engineering course can be, and it can get a bit overwhelming at times, when the exams or assignment deadlines come in, and that is why I am so happy that Strathclyde actually cares about us. And you can see it through mental health days when you get activities to calm your nerves, or the small anti-stress packages and breakfasts in the library during exam season, and books on how to deal with stress being displayed.
This, and the fact that when you live on the Strathclyde campus, you get to know people, get to form your own little community and it becomes a place where you don’t mind staying after your classes are done, where you can meet up with your friends and have a Christmas party, or watch a movie.
Why Strathclyde?
I found Strathclyde very welcoming and generally felt good about being in the school, which was very important to me as I was moving halfway across Europe for this course. I had a lot of support from the admissions team when I emailed them looking for help, and a lot of support from staff at the open day. It was all just really nice.
I read up on some of the research by Department staff and saw that the school has a hands-on practice. The subjects all seemed interesting, the course is fully accredited, and it has very good employment rates. This ticked all the boxes for me.
Strathclyde has thought of almost anything you could want or need as a student. There's a gym, library, careers services, mental health support, academic support, disability and wellbeing services, I can’t honestly name them all. They are all very useful and will update you with any major events that are coming out, so it is fairly easy to get in touch with them.
I use the library most, as I spend a lot of time studying in there, or the gym, as I really enjoy swimming and it is good to get some movement in after spending a lot of time behind the computer screen.
The Biomedical Engineering Society
I am a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society committee, and I think that, even before I joined the committee, the Society helped me A LOT. I had no friends, no contacts, no idea where I was going at the beginning of first year, and the University putting up opportunities to meet people via all these different societies was a game changer. Plus having a society just for our course meant that I was able to form stronger bonds with people I will be seeing every day for several years. Moreover, the Society does a lot of useful things, like the homework club, where you can get help from people from the year above you when you are struggling with an assignment, or just understanding some topics, they also give study tips to the lower years.
Glasgow
I did not know what to expect of Scotland before moving here. I imagined grey skies and green pastures with cute cows, but it is so much more than that! It is not always cold and rainy - when I was moving to Glasgow, my mum joked that she'd never visit as it's too cold here! In fact it’s usually fine if you wear a coat, and it can get quite warm.
The country and even the city are so beautiful. There is always something more to explore, somewhere to go, something to see; whether it is the Kelvingrove Park or going on a trip to St. Andrews.
The best part of Glasgow is the people. I was shocked to discover how nice and helpful the people are. I was expecting to struggle finding people who would want to talk to me as a foreigner, but I’ve never encountered that issue. Quite the opposite, people seem to be really interested and ask me about home.
When you are in Glasgow for long enough, you can really see the community sense a lot more clearly. For example, the month of June is filled with free events put on by small companies or museums, or individuals. People even have ceilidhs on the street. It is a city that has made me feel like I belong.
I would definitely recommend Strathclyde to other people as it honestly is a great school, which teaches you a lot and you can be sure that it is going to be useful for your work, but it also has great opportunities for personal growth and will give you all the support you need during your studies.