Sarah Fink: Biomedical Engineering

Sarah Fink is a Design Engineer at OMX Solutions, a Melbourne-based medical device company specialising in custom oral and maxillofacial implants. She is also the co-founder and director at SWADE Medtech, a medical device start-up company.

She chose to study a Bachelor of Science (Bioengineering Systems major) and a Master of Engineering (Biomedical) because of her passion for science and engineering. “I think that the combination of both biological sciences and engineering is what drew me to Biomedical Engineering. Biomedical engineering is a highly multidisciplinary field requiring understanding of skills and knowledge in a number of areas, which I really appreciate as I enjoy so many different aspects of science and technology.”

“I am inspired by the fact that engineering solutions can have a real impact on people’s lives and wellbeing. Some of the highly innovative and creative engineering projects at the University of Melbourne inspire me to think big and believe that if I work hard I have the potential to achieve something incredible.”

SWADE Medtech was established following the BioDesign Innovation subject Sarah took during her masters. In this subject, biomedical engineering students and MBA students work with a mentor from a hospital to design a medical device that solves a clinical problem, taking it through all steps of development.

“I have really enjoyed the BioDesign Innovation program, which acted as my final year capstone project. It was really exciting to do hands on work, building our own medical device and making use of a variety of skills I had acquired during my degree.”

Sarah credits her masters degree to enhancing her employability and career development. “Primarily the [masters] course has provided me with a great technical understanding of my field, but has also allowed me to develop my interpersonal and workplace skills. I feel more confident to head out into the workforce now than I did directly out of my bachelors degree.”

Her advice to students is “to do your research, so you know what you’re signing up for. But regardless, you will have a fantastic experience, learning and growing so much. Try to seize every opportunity and be involved in student life, not just attending classes and going straight home. And don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to your classmates, it helps to have a friend and someone has to make the first effort.”

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