From 14 to 18 July 2025, I had the pleasure of undertaking a week of work experience at UCL’s Institute of Healthcare Engineering. I’ve always had a great interest in medical engineering and its impact on society, and since UCL has been at the heart of many important research projects, such as the development of Point of Care diagnostic systems and bioprocessing, I was excited to be able to take a closer look.
There were many activities, but one of my favourites was being given a tour of the biochemical labs by Sandeep Mangrati, a PhD student. He told us about his fascinating research centred around AAV vectors, a type of virus. These can be used for treatment, such as to deliver undamaged genes into cells. The lab tour also gave us an insight into the work of bioreactors, and how their technology has developed over time to create the most efficient and effective process possible.
One of the best parts of being at UCL was the opportunity to talk to amazing researchers who are experts in their field. At times, I felt almost like a fish out of water, in the best way possible – there’s truly nothing more useful to gauge your future options than being able to talk to people who have already gone through the process of study and work. I also got to meet people who had taken a slightly different route in their career, one of these being Luís Lacerda, who now works as the R&D manager at the IHE. He taught me the importance of understanding your priorities in your professional life, what you truly want to do, and what kind of impact you want to have - and this impact does not always need to mean becoming an award-winning researcher, it can be through inspiring younger people into pursuing science, and bringing research to the masses.
This week also taught me about a side of science that is often not recognised as much as it should be – marketing and communications. While shadowing Ferdouse Akhter, the Marketing and Community Manager, I got to sit in on the recording of an episode of the ‘Health in a Handbasket’ podcast with Monica Lakhanpaul. This was an amazing experience not only because Monica is an extremely accomplished and inspiring researcher, but also because I got to see the different careers within scientific research and academia. This week also reminded me of the importance of transferrable skills, which can be picked up from a multitude of places, like volunteering.
Overall, the UCL Faculty of Engineering were really friendly and the work experience had a very relaxed pace, giving me time to also explore the local area. UCL is surrounded by loads of beautiful nature, retail outlets and is generally a very lively and exciting place to be.
This work experience is definitely one of my favourite ones so far, and confirmed to me that healthcare engineering is a field I want to work in. I’ve gained a more in-depth understanding of what a degree involves and the vast array of career prospects. I would recommend it to anyone else trying to find experience!
