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The University of Waterloo’s Biomedical Engineering Society (UWBME) bridges the gap between students and the field through education, opportunities, and community-focused initiatives, fostering connections with industry leaders and peers.
One prominent issue in the field of biomedical engineering is the existence of a “gap” between students and the field. Most of you must be wondering how so? Many students have a vague conception of the field, including what it entails, what are the current pioneering advancements as well as where the field is headed in the years to come. The University of Waterloo’s biomedical engineering society took the initiative to help bridge the gap. The club was founded as of late January 2024 by the brilliant minds of Harleen Khangura, Jeeda Sabri and Bhavneet Bola with the intent of providing individuals a platform that emphasizes education, opportunity and community in the field of biomedical engineering. In addition to raising awareness, the founders envision a club which would allow individuals from various backgrounds to come together and be given the chance to widen their horizons on the scope of the field and interact with industry professionals.
The society has had many successful events such as an in-person panel with the CEO of Intellijoint and other medical startups in the Waterloo region. This event brought together students from various graduating years, TA’s and professors to get a glimpse of the convergence of biomedical engineering and Entrepreneurship. For context, Intellijoint develops and commercializes surgical navigation solutions for total joint replacement. Over the course of the panel, individuals gained insight into an entrepreneur's journey, understanding on how to find opportunities within health challenges as well as exploring applications of the biomedical engineering sector in the industry. The event sparked joyful outcomes amongst attendees, including Waterloo’s BME program director as well as alumni. When asked how it felt to organize the event, the founders responded by expressing how fulfilling it was to see how much people gained from the event and their reactions. In addition to the event, the society has also hosted a guest speaker, a clinical engineer manager from Saint Michael hospital as well as a networking session with Medical Innovation Xchange, a company which supports med-tech startups in Kitchener.
The achievement of the society heavily depends on skills each member brings to the table. At first thought, the founders highlighted how an initiative and a drive is sufficient to bring one closer to their goal. During the society's early phase, the founders carefully took the time to mold the society’s backbone, its goals and values. They critically analyzed the demographic and determined an educational and awareness based platform would be most impactful. As the platform grew, the founders shared how important it was to have a growth mindset. Being open to ask for guidance and advice allows one to clearly see what others have done and how you can adapt that to your own needs. Furthermore, when reflecting on their growth from their first event to their most recent, the founders expressed how vital it was to hone organization and communication skills, a necessity to unify everyone's strength within the team. As the leadership team brought together students and industry professions, ensuring everyone was on the same page became increasingly important.
As the year unfolds, the society has planned an exciting lineup of events. They hinted at a potential UWBME gala and outlined various upcoming collaborations. One of their goals is to partner with other schools' BME societies to organize a national BME conference that will spotlight Canadian-based companies. Additionally, a design competition is in the works with the Waterloo-based club, UWaterloo Biotec. Furthermore, plans are also underway for a collaboration with CUBEC.
Looking to the future, the founders envision a society that embraces a wider diversity of students from various backgrounds, hackathons, fosters collaboration across universities, and hosts alumni events they’re excited to attend one day.
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