During reading week, 20 students from the Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Society travelled to Nuremberg, Würzburg, and Schweinfurt, Bavaria, for an industry immersion visit to Fresenius Medical Care’s R&D and manufacturing headquarters, the facility behind more than half of the world’s dialysis machines.
The visit was organised by the society’s Outreach Manager, Catharina Maschka, with the support of Society President Joy Zhang, and was made possible by the generous funding from the Department and the £3,500 Friends’ Trust Grant.
The day began with a warm welcome from UCL alumnus Charles Hugh-Jones, Chief Medical Officer of Fresenius Medical Care, before students followed the full journey of a medical device, from raw components through a 7-day precision assembly process to a clinic-ready machine. Experts across human factors, hydraulics, and cybersecurity then gave their time generously, with over three hours of open floor discussion where no question went unanswered.
Running through every conversation was a consistent thread: patient oriented engineering. Dialysis is a demanding, lifelong treatment, and the engineering at Fresenius is shaped entirely around reducing that burden. From personalised treatment algorithms to discussions about global access and sustainability, it was a reminder of what engineering is ultimately for.
My highlight of the MPBE trip to Fresenius Medical Care was discovering new roles and opportunities I didn't even know existed in the industry. I was also really excited about the opportunity to explore both Nuremberg, an important historical city, and Wurzburg, known as a UNESCO World Heritage site, making the trip incredibly well rounded.
