Emma Wright

When I visited Surrey for an Open Day, I knew that this was the university where I was meant to be. The main reason I chose to study here was that it offered a respected, well-structured Biomedical Engineering degree while the common first year across the mechanical engineering sciences meant that I could keep my options open in case I decided the course wasn’t right for me.

The best aspect of my course has been the chance to work on numerous practical, hands-on projects, enabling me to put the skills, knowledge and tools I’ve learned into practice. These projects have been very pertinent to real world challenges – for example two group projects I’ve worked on have involved designing and manufacturing a robotic hand for a child, and designing a Covid-safe cruise ship.

Throughout my time at Surrey I’ve found the staff to be extremely approachable and supportive. They are all very passionate about their subject areas and want you to do well and to understand the lecture/tutorial content. They also provided me with great support in putting me forward for the Cadzow Smith Engineering Award 2021, which I am proud to have won.

Another highlight of my time at Surrey has been my Professional Training placement at DePuy Synthes (a medical device company owned by Johnson & Johnson), where I worked as a Biomechanics Test Engineer. My day-to-day role was to carry out mechanical and manual testing of clinical relevance on hip and knee implants and surgical instruments, using the company’s state-of-the-art orthopaedics testing laboratory. I also had the opportunity to extend my contract to work in New Product Development for a month, and to take on the role of a STEM ambassador through events like the Big Bang Fair and schools activities.

"Overall, my placement year was a very rich and rewarding experience because I knew that I was contributing something, no matter how small, to an industry that works to improve the quality of people’s lives."

I’ve made some amazing memories at Surrey. It’s such a diverse community of people, there is always an opportunity to break out of your comfort zone and try something new. I’ve been a member of Surrey’s Women’s Football Club and played social matches against other universities, which was a great way to unwind from studying and be part of the sporting community. I also founded the Biomedical Engineering Society in my second year as a way of getting to know people on my course better and learning more about our field of engineering. Since then, the society has invited industry specialists to give talks on campus, organised trips to conferences and exhibitions, run socials and raised over £1,000 for various local charities.

Having studied at Surrey I have a strong passion for the field of medical devices, and when I graduate I’d really like to work in a dynamic R&D environment in that area. I’m looking forward to contributing to an industry where the end goals is helping people to improve their lives and to ensure a continuum of care for patients.

Read about Emma’s success in winning the Cadzow Smith Award.

Discover our courses in mechanical engineering sciences, including our BEng (Hons)/MEng Biomedical Engineering degree course.