1. COURSE

What is your course about? (for someone who knows nothing about it)

If someone asked me what’s Biomedical Engineering, I would call it that spot where Engineering meets Biology in general. If you look at other forms of Engineering, for example, Civil Engineering deals with buildings and Electrical Engineering deals with electronics in general. In that same sense, Biomedical Engineering deals with the apparatus that doctors and nurses use in their practice, so we’re talking about X-ray machines or other forms of machinery. We are the ones that actually play a role in creating and designing those. We actually also touch on a lot of other different perspectives in this course, dealing with Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Coding and Math as well. It is definitely a very interesting and dynamic course as you get to see how technology and healthcare work together.

 

2. DECISION MAKING

Were you from JC or Poly and what did you study? How was your thought process like when you were choosing your course?

I was in JC, I took H2 Biology, Chemistry, Math and H1 Econs.

It all started back in Sec 2 when I started to become very interested in Biology.  In fact during Sec 3 streaming I already knew that I only wanted to take Biology and Chemistry, but my parents being typical Asian parents wanted me to take the Triple Science stream. Ironically, it actually saved me in the end and helped me enter NUS Engineering. If you don’t have a H2 Physics background, they will actually look at whether you took Pure Physics at O Levels. 

Back to what led me towards BME, despite my interest in Biology, you know H2 Biology is very content heavy and I didn’t like the emphasis on Cellular Biology, in fact this was something that I had to deal with in secondary school as well. Then A Levels came and went by, and when I was looking up university courses I came across BME and I went like: hey this is also kind of Biology but it’s more of the analytical and technical side of it. As someone who studied more of Biology on the cellular and theoretical level for the past 4 years or so, I wanted something different and I became very intrigued by it as I researched more about the people behind X-ray machines, Electrocardiography (ECG) machines and all. Honestly without the people behind all this machinery, who knows what healthcare would have turned out like today? 

 

What courses or universities were you choosing between? Why NUS BME over the others?

I had 2 other offers from NTU Econs/Chinese and SUSS Business Analytics. 

Aptitude vs Interest 

Funnily enough, I actually didn’t expect myself to go into engineering because the other courses that I applied to were mostly humanities in nature. Looking at my grades throughout JC, some of my teachers advised me to go for the humanities path since my grades in humanities subjects like Econs, GP and Chinese were always higher than my Sciences and Math. However, ultimately what led me towards BME was my interest in Science and Math as I enjoy the problem-solving and thinking that is involved in these subjects. For humanities, while I was good at it, I found myself sleeping in class alot so I couldn’t see myself in a course like that for the next 4 years and even the rest of my life. That was how I ended up applying for BME and when they gave me the offer I immediately accepted it.

Weighing out possible career pathways for different courses of study

I didn’t really have a plan that was set in stone, but I’m quite keen on going into the education sector after graduation or academia like going on to take either Masters/PhD. But thinking about it, if I get a Chinese degree at NTU, it wouldn’t give me the same satisfaction compared to a STEM-related degree because what got me inspired to join the education sector were the teachers who sparked my passion for Science. 

 

Seeking advice from teachers in JC

I don’t think everyone necessarily has the resources to go on internships to help them choose which path to go on, for me it was more of the guidance that I got from my teachers. I think I was very lucky to have teachers in JC who were very open to giving advice on the different paths that I can pursue my interest in Biology, and other than the more obvious path of taking Life Sciences, BME was one of them too. 

 

3. ADMISSIONS/SCHOLARSHIPS

Are you on any scholarship/know people on scholarships? Which scholarships would you advise juniors to look out for?

In general, for my cohort at least, it’s just a few people here and there who are on scholarship in BME. If we were to talk about types of scholarships, I would say that I know of more people who are either on engineering scholarships or those awarded directly by the university such as the NUS Merit Scholarship. Sadly, even though our course involves the healthcare sector, we are kind of in the grey area. So I personally haven’t really met many people who are on healthcare scholarships such as those by MOH, since they are usually more chartered towards the medical side of the healthcare sector. 

 

4. TEACHING CURRICULUM

What is the Course Structure like for BME Y1-4?

Year 1

Essentially more of foundational modules. If you’re like me with no H2 Physics background, that’s when you clear your Physics bridging modules! Likewise, there are people who come in with no H2 Chemistry background and they will also have to take bridging modules.

In my first semester, I had Calculus and Material Engineering Principles, which is basically learning about how materials interact and are formed in real life.

In Semester 2, I took basic foundation modules for BME, where I was introduced to theories like Fluid Mechanics and learnt how to draw engineering diagrams through different softwares. In engineering, we usually use SolidWorks which is this product designing program that helps you draw out and make 3D prototypes of your designs on the computer. I also did a module on coding, where we mainly learnt about Python. In my other foundation module I also learnt how to use MatLab, which is another programming software but it is more geared towards the use of Arduinos, which are basically very tiny CPUs (Central Processing Units) that we use to code on ECG machines.

Year 2

In Y2 Sem 1, which is the semester that just went by for me, I took more biomedical, major related modules – for example I took anatomy, which was very interesting for me. I also took Bioinstrumentations which is basically the study of medical devices as a whole, where we had to code for something that somewhat resembles an ECG machine, which was quite interesting as well. Y2 Sem 1 is also a time when many people start clearing their General Education Modules (GEM) in NUS, basically more “fluffy” modules – a bit like GP in JC if I were to give a basis of comparison. I also took Academic Writing last semester to clear my requirements. In that class, you will basically be taught how to write academic reports in engineering in general, learn how to do proper citations and how to format proper academia-worthy papers. Surprisingly, even though I’m in engineering, which is a course that many people would assume to have a lot more Math and Science and not much of writing, you can expect to do a lot of research papers – I have written about 1 research paper per semester since I got into uni. 

In Semester 2 now, I am taking more BME related modules in different aspects, so I’m taking Biomechanicsstudying about orthopaedics (how your muscles and skeleton moves), and there’s also Biochemistry, Biostatistics, as well as Engineering Professionalism which is an ethics class all engineering students have to take before go for any internships.

Year 3

In 1 semester we will be going for our internship, depending on which pathways we choose. There are also opportunities to clear one or two modules as night classes if you’re pressed to clear requirements. And the other semester will be when many people start clearing Technical Electives that are more focused on different aspects of Bioengineering – e.g. orthopaedics, studying prosthetics, tissue engineering, etc. There’s a lot of electives out there for students to choose from in the faculty. 

Year 4

You’ll basically be clearing out any requirements left in order to graduate. For BME, it is compulsory to have aFinal Year Project (FYP) which spans about 2 semesters. In that period of time, it’s kind of similar to how FYPs work in other courses in engineering, so you’ll be attached to a graduate PhD student or a professor and carry out research or projects in a lab.

If you want to think of it simply, it’s kind of like a pyramid system, so Y1 there’s your foundation modules which are very general, but you’re becoming more and more specialised towards BME as you go up the years.

 

How are lessons and grading like?

Lessons wise, if we’re talking about pre-pandemic times, it’s basically like how most uni courses are, so we had lectures in the LT to go through the content. Though not all lectures were webcast before COVID-19, some professors choose to broadcast their lectures online, but it’s asynchronous – meaning that you have to wait for the lecture to pass before watching the video on your own. However because of the pandemic now, all lectures are recorded and posted online to the central website that everyone uses. During those lectures,  depending on the nature of the module, sometimes they can be in a hands-on style. For example, from what I’ve heard from seniors, in pre-COVID times during Anatomy lectures they actually had professors bringing in pig hearts into the LT and dissecting them for students to appreciate how the heart works. 

Tutorials wise, it’s similar to JC/Poly style where you sit in a class and go through problem sets that you’ve been assigned, and there will be time for Teaching Assistants (TAs) to go through any content that you’re unsure of from the lectures as well. Depending on the module, attendance for tutorials can be graded as well. (TIP: If you want to push up your grade, attendance for tutorials is an easy way to go!) 

Also, many of us actually expected that a lot of our modules would be very theoretical due to the nature of BME, but in reality most of my assessment has been more hands-on and project-based. If you prefer doing hands-on work in an interactive environment, as compared to modules where it comprises typical midterms and finals, you should be able to do better in BME, as these projects take up 40-50% of your entire grade, depending on the module that you’re going for. We also have labs during which you carry out experiments and submit reports afterwards, and those reports actually contribute 15-20% of your grade. For me, I didn’t do so well in JC and secondary school because I struggled a lot with exams, like I couldn’t cope with the stress of being in an exam hall. And all this while, I had always enjoyed hands-on sessions over lectures where I’m mostly just mindlessly copying things onto my notes. For example in JC Biology, when we learnt about Cellular Biology, going into the lab to prepare slides and seeing the cells for myself under the microscope actually helped me appreciate cellular concepts more and better understand how animal and plant cells look like in real life. So coming into NUS and being in a course where most of the grading is geared towards continual assessment (projects, labs and even take-home assignments) has actually allowed me to fare much better. With this system in place in our faculty, many of us don’t feel as much pressure during finals, which is usually around 60%, because at least we have already managed to secure 40% throughout the semester. There’s doubt that you still have to work hard for finals, but at least I don’t have to worry too much as I still have a proportion of grades that can help to pull up my overall grade for the module. 

As for class participation in BME modules, it’s not usually graded. I think that would be more applicable for FASS or Business modules. However, in General Education Modules, I had class participation in one module on Chinese culture that went up to 35% of my grade, so I think it graded class participation is really something that’s more for the humanities majors and not really a thing in Science. 

 

Do you have a lot of project work? What are your projects like?

There is usually at least one to two modules that I have projects for every semester because, for NUS BME, our faculty has designed the curriculum such that projects are an integral part of it. Even for foundational modules, there’s usually a component that involves group work, and I think that’s very important for biomedical engineers because when we go into the workforce, communication with doctors, nurses or other key stakeholders is key. It’s really a habit or culture that our faculty is trying to instill in us. For Y1 Sem 1, I did a mini-research project on kidney dialysis which was interesting, and in Sem 2 my project work was on a temperature-taking prototype. Whereas for Y2, in the last semester (Sem 1), I had to work with quite a lot of people in the lab for this mini-project which involved coding for an ECG machine, which was really eye-opening! And for this semester (Sem 2), I also have a Biomechanics project that is coming up. So you can see that project work is really not restricted to our Y4 FYP, but rather it’s an every semester kind of thing. 

I think it is really through such projects that you can see how engineering principles come to life in the healthcare industry. 

 

What are your favourite and least favourite modules?

Least Favourite Module

For my least favourite module, it would definitely be coding haha! I personally didn’t really enjoy the module as a lot of people go into the module with already knowing the basics in Python or even know how to code professionally. Especially since in NUS modules where we’re actually graded on a bell curve, people who go in with coding experience naturally tend to do better since it is much easier for them to score. Ironically enough, that module is called Introduction to Programming, so for my friends and I who were entirely noobs at programming it was a really hard module to survive through, especially because we had coding assignments every week and they can take days to complete. I once had an assignment that took me two weeks which was very annoying because it took away a lot of attention and time from my other modules in the semester. 

Favourite Module

As for my favourite module, I would say it’s Anatomy from the last semester. This is because I had very good professors for Anatomy who had experience working in the healthcare sector and were equipped with so much knowledge about the human body. For someone who already had a lot of interest in Biology, and given that it was actually one of the first Biology related modules in my course, I really really enjoyed it and found myself doing much better for Anatomy than other modules.

I would say that generally, since your TAs and professors are your first point of contact in each module, they can really make or break the experience. Because in uni it’s a really independent system, having good professors can really make modules so much more enjoyable. 

 

Do you think there are any misconceptions that people might have regarding BME?

There’s one major misconception that even I had when I came into this course – looking at the course name,many people will think that there is a lot of Biology, and I had many friends with the BCMX combination from JC who came over into this course. So when we entered Y1, we really got a big shock as there was close to no Biology in Y1, just a lot of Math, Physics and Coding. It was tough having close to no Physics knowledge in Y1, since the last time I had contact with the subject was my O Levels, and professors tend to assume that you already have prior knowledge of some very basic concepts. However, for those with no H2 Physics background you honestly don’t have to worry too much because so long as you’re willing to learn, the faculty naturally has their own plan to help you do well and succeed in the course. Also, it’s not to say that there is no Biology in BME, but rather that a lot of content that might mirror things that we’ve learnt in secondary school or JC Biology is brought in during the later years because after all I am still in Y2 only. 

 

Who’s suited for this course?

People who love problem-solving and doing hands-on projects would really enjoy this course! Because in each module, at some point in time, you will be given questions or projects that meet a lot of issues along the way. For example, you could face the problem of your code not working or a wheel in your prototype not turning. 

You definitely need to come from a Science background, but the subject combination required is not fixed and apparent. Be it whether you are from a Physics or Biology background, I would say that there will definitely be one point of time in the course during which you have to play the catchup game. 

 

5. CAREER PROSPECTS

What career paths are available for a BME student?

For NUS Engineering, we have career advisors to help you choose which job you want to go to after graduation, get internships and all. They were mentioning that because of the small cohort size of BME (I think we only have about 250 people from the undergraduate cohort Y1 to Y4), they understand that many people are concerned about the fact that BME in NUS has one of the lowest employment rates in the whole university. But this is actually because many undergraduates in BME actually go on to pursue their Masters and PhDs in local or overseas universities after graduation. 

If we’re talking about jobs wise, many people choose to join startups in the healthcare sector, mainly working ashealthcare analysts or medical technologists. More obviously our career options are steered towards healthcare, but because of the fact that we learn about a lot of engineering in BME as well it is possible to cross into other sections of the engineering sector such as Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering. There is definitely a huge variety of career prospects that you can go for, just depending on whatever you are interested in as well as what kind of skillset you are equipped with. It really varies from individual to individual. I have some friends who are dead set on pursuing their PhDs and becoming professors, whereas others are keen on doing their own startups or work at the frontline as medical staff. 

 

What kind of internships do most students take on? Any advice for internships?

For BME, internship opportunities usually come in when we are in Y3. For Engineering in general, there are 3 different internship pathways to choose from. Depending on which pathway you opt for, your internships will be quite different in nature. 

• Firstly, the most generic one is the Practising Professional Pathway (PPP) which allows you to become a formally accredited engineer. Internships in this pathway are geared towards technological SMEs and MNCs. 
• The second one is the Innovation and Design Programme (IDP) which is more of a business-centricpathway. Students on internships in this pathway will get to learn about startups in the BME sector as well as business-related concepts as a whole. Also, NUS has a NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme whereby students can go overseas to work at startups. Many people take on IDP as well since it is the most versatile programme, as business is needed everywhere. I have a senior who went to Istanbul to work for a couple of months during his internship so that seems pretty interesting! 
• The final one would be the research pathway, if you opt for that then your internship would most likely be in a setting of laboratories and research agencies that are more focused on medical technology in Singapore. People who come out of this are usually more inclined to becoming researchers or pursuing Masters/PhD. Since I have already been largely exposed to the technical aspect of BME during my lectures and tutorials, I would prefer to go for a research-based internship!

 

6. STUDENT LIFE

Was JC or Uni more stressful? Is BME very stressful/competitive?

This is from my own personal experience – because I was from a JC that wasn’t anywhere near the top haha, I would say that in my JC I was considered an above-average student. I didn’t do fantastic but I did pretty okay and in a sense I was quite used to succeeding academically. But when I came into uni, I don’t think many local students realise this, but NUS’ requirements for international students to come in is actually quite high. So essentially in NUS, you’re really competing with the cream of the crop not just in Singapore but from other countries as well, and that for me really took quite a big toll on my mental health in Y1. Being surrounded by people with so much experience – I had friends who interned at many different startups or even did gap years to do research projects and all – I just sat there and couldn’t help but think: do I even deserve to be here? It didn’t really help that in Y1, there were people who would openly talk about their GPA/CAP, which actually stressed me out at that point of time because I was constantly surrounded by high achievers.

For people like me who came from somewhat average backgrounds, I would say that you might get a huge culture shock because some of my friends and I in BME who came from similar backgrounds kind of really struggled to adapt to the culture in NUS Engineering. In fact, workload-wise, the stress wasn’t nearly as overwhelming. No doubt I was being exposed to many new things academically, but being surrounded by people who were like valedictorians from local JCs or from overseas high school was what really contributed to the bulk of my stress. But after some time I eventually grew to become used to it, so I would say do come in with an open mindset and don’t question your ability to have that spot in NUS Engineering. There is definitely something that is seen in you in order to bring you into the faculty.

 

Are there any exchange programmes for BME?

Generally, NUS Engineering as a whole faculty has a lot of exchange programmes, there are so many places you can choose from ranging from Asia to Europe and more! If you’re talking about BME alone, many of my seniors end up going to Hanyang University in South Korea, because that is one of the universities where we’re able to map all of our modules over to on exchange. So when choosing your exchange university, making sure you’re able to map almost all of your modules over is important so that you don’t really waste your semester abroad and risk graduating late as well.

 

Did you choose to stay in halls during your time at NUS?

Sadly no, I actually commute to school every day. I did want to stay in RC (Residential College) but because of personal finance/family reasons I couldn’t. But honestly, I feel that incoming students who have the resources/finances should definitely try to go for at least a year or two stay on campus because basing on friends and acquaintances around me, on-campus residential living is something that is a whole new experience from living at home because that is the point of time where you need to become independent. To add on, uni in general is very independent since there will be many times that you have to go for lectures or tutorials by yourself – it’s harder to find a fixed group of friends from class since your modules are changing every semester. Usually, you’ll just have one or two good friends who are in your module but you may not get to see them for the rest of your school life. So for people who go into RCs, halls or student residences, they somewhat usually have this solid group of friends who form the support system that they can fall back on in uni. So sometimes I really do regret not going for it haha, even if you find difficulty affording it, NUS actually has many loans, grants or financial assistant schemes that can help you find housing on campus. 

 

What do you do in your free time at NUS? (clubs you can join, etc.)

I had some commitments in Y1, so I couldn’t really apply to any clubs, but what I did was sign up for things here and there. So in NUS, every few weeks, there will be clubs, groups and events that send out recruitment emails. So for people who can’t join CCAs in Y1 Sem 1 due to various reasons, there are still other avenues for you to have an opportunity to experience campus life as a whole.

It can range from student welfare events to joining certain clubs as a temporary member/helper, or even student orientation leaders. There is really quite a huge variety of activities! But a huge downfall of doing this would be that since it’s event-based, you might meet new people but you also might never get to see them ever again. However, it’s definitely a good platform to meet people outside of your own faculty and make friends if you don’t stay on campus like I did, or if you don’t join a CCA like most of us do in Engineering. This might come as a surprise to people who assume that Engineering courses are easier since they are one of the easiest to get into in NUS –  the workload is actually pretty intense. For me, in the last semester (Y2 Sem 1), I’m spending 6-8 hours a day on academics alone. It really boils down to what you want from your uni life, and whether you think you’re able to commit to clubs yet stay on top of your academics. 

 

Any advice for juniors planning to study BME at NUS in the future?

For people who are interested in engineering as a whole, honestly learning how to do Python before you enter uni would be such a great help. Please learn Python, Python is everywhere! Having any sort of coding background would be really beneficial. 

As for BME specifically, I would say really do explore more about the course on your own. As I mentioned earlier, Arduinos are a really big thing, at least in NUS. So if you think that BME might be something you wish to pursue, do look into things like Matlab in your free time so as to gauge whether you really want to be a part of this course. BME is really quite closely related to coding so do be prepared for that. 

In terms of trying to survive in NUS BME as a whole, I feel that knowing when you need help and being teachable is something that will definitely help you throughout your four years. Because many people go into the course in Y1 being super headstrong, having the mindset that no matter what they’re going to graduate with a perfect GPA. But because of the fact that in BME, you’re dealing with so many disciplines – Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math and Coding, there’s definitely bound to be something that you’re not that good at – unless you’re good at all 5 then I have nothing to say haha. Since you will be going into Y1 learning so many new things, you need to acknowledge that you might struggle with one or two, for example I was really bad at Physics and Coding due to my lack of background. But it was because of the fact that I knew I needed help in this course and I was struggling to understand some things, I began to reach out to my professors and TAs, trying to utilise the resources given as much as I could. If you don’t know when and how to ask for help, you’ll just end up giving yourself a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress that I myself went through at first and trust me that really isn’t good for your mental health. Our professors and TAs in the faculty are very wonderful people who are super open to teaching and helping you, so don’t think that reaching out for help is something to be ashamed of but rather see it as a means of improving yourself in this course.