Krystal Yap MEng Mechanical Engineering with Biomedical Engineering, 2019
The best part about the Malaysia Campus was the small community we had, so everyone knew everybody.
Why did you choose the University of Southampton Malaysia (UoSM)?
One of the main reasons I chose to study in Malaysia was because it was cheaper and it also gave me the opportunity to study in the UK campus, thus allowing me to enjoy the best of both worlds. Besides that, Southampton was well known for their engineering degrees.
I also wanted to specialise in biomedical engineering mainly to be able to help people in some way and make a difference in their lives. Through biomedical engineering, I have the opportunity to do so, either by designing better implants or even coming up with new ways of aiding doctors to diagnose patients. It is also really interesting to study how designing implants is not as simple as designing a car engine as it will be implanted into a human's body, thus the interactions between the materials chosen have to be compatible with the human body and not cause harm, where there are other factors that are needed to be taken into account as well.
What were the best things about studying at the University of Southampton Malaysia and UK Campus?
The best part about the Malaysia Campus was the small community we had, so everyone knew everybody. The cohort was much smaller, so we had more attention from the lecturers. It was also easy to look for the lecturers whenever we had questions. Whereas in the UK Campus, there was just so much to do and so many events organised by the union.
For me, joining Southampton University Ladies Football Team (SULFC) was definitely a highlight as it really made my university life great. I loved the close relationship we had in the team and how everyone was really welcoming and friendly. I had a great balance between sports, social and academic.
I also had the opportunity to watch a femur fracture fixation operation which lasted about 6 hours and was such a good experience to see how the surgery was performed from the start to the end. After the operation, I spoke to the surgeon who arranged for me to view a total knee replacement surgery with my classmate, Weldon (who appears in the photo). It really helped my understanding of the things we have learned about implants and see the difficulties faced by surgeons as they are performing the surgery and how they overcome it. Besides that, it gave me ideas on how to further improve and innovate the current devices that they are using to further aid the surgery process.
What did you most enjoy about your degree programme?
I would say I enjoyed the group design project in fourth year. Working on a year long project with people you have not met before and coming up with innovative ideas and design as well as achieving our main objective was a great experience, especially getting shortlisted for the Shell Innovation Award 2019. It gave an insight of how working in the real world would be like.
How did the University help prepare you for employment?
We had a lot of group projects, working with different people which improves our teamwork skills. Besides that, we also had to do assignments that required us to do research, analyse the effects and then write a report on our findings. To me, this was useful because I gained experience on how to write technical reports which I am sure will be helpful in my career when it comes to writing reports.
What advice would you give to current students to help them secure their first job?
Really enjoy and make full use of your time in university, especially the careers and employability services. I would say do not rush to start work immediately but take your time and find the right job that best suits you so that you will enjoy your job more.