By Ingrid Hernandez
On Thursday, Nov. 17, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), and the
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE-EMBS) hosted the annual “Evening with Industry”
event via Zoom.
The event was an opportunity for students seeking jobs, internships, or sponsors to network with
industry representatives from various biomedical engineering (BME) companies. It also gave students
insight into BME as a major and the opportunities that the field has to offer. “It helps to give students an
edge and gets them involved so they can learn and make connections to get ahead,” said Ashwin Lahori,
an event coordinator for BMES and historian for AEMB.
During the event, students had the time to speak directly with company representatives in their
respective breakout rooms and make connections with them for future job opportunities, as well as ask
questions about the companies themselves and the work they do. Companies that participated included
Cordis; Becton, Dickinson and Company; Jabil; Siemens Healthineers; and Skeletal Dynamics, among
others.
In addition to meeting companies, students heard stories from FIU faculty, alumni and professionals in
the BME field about the positive impact BME can have on people’s lives, its importance in creating
innovative technology and advice on how to stay in the flow of new and creative ideas when working.
“Everything went perfectly,” said Lahori. “By my going through each different room and seeing the
students, they were all participating, talking to the companies and doing exactly what we wanted them
to do.”
BME Industry Advisory Board (IAB) co-chairs stated that such interactions with faculty and students will
become more critical in the future in order to foster Research and Development (R&D) collaborations, as
well as further define education objectives and curriculum so students can get to work immediately
when they take up their future industry careers.
Additional ways for students to continue making connections with the BME industry is through keeping
contact with representatives to stay updated on future work and internships at their company, taking
full advantage of platforms such as LinkedIn to make more connections with other companies, and being
alert for other work and internship opportunities that the BME department and student organizations
share with students.
Plans to hold the event again next year with BMES, AEMB and IEEE-EMBS are currently underway.