Information for schools

Bioengineering is at the interface between engineering and medicine. By applying engineering skills we are able to solve biological and medical problems. In the Department, we cover the three main areas of the discipline:

1. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING:
Developing devices, techniques and interventions for human health.

2. BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING:
Solving problems related to the life sciences and their applications for health.

3. BIOMIMETICS:
Using the structures and functions of living organisms as models for the design and engineering of materials and machines.

Bioengineering interventions will improve our everyday lives from diagnosing disease earlier, enabling the disabled and improving quality of life in old age. These accessible applications mean bioengineering is a great topic to get students more interested in science, technology, engineering and maths, and help them to understand how it can be relevant to them.  There are lots of resources available online but here are a few we would recommend.

Visit us at Imperial

There's so many ways to visit Imperial. From student-led campus tours, information appointments with our central Student Recruitment team and of course our Open Days 

School Visits

A representative from the Department is happy to deliver a talk about bioengineering to school students.  We also offer talks and practical workshops to schools and are particularly keen to work with Y9-11 age groups as it provides us with the opportunity to speak about the importance of studying both maths with physics and/or chemistry at A-level, which are our core required subjects.  

Please contact the outreach manager for further information. 

The Department presents annually at the HE advisors day organised by Imperial and is often invited to speak at UCAS events. 

Key information for HE advisors

Maths and physics are core requirements for studying Biomedical Engineering , with maths and chemistry being core requirements for studying Molecular Bioengineering at Imperial, so students should be encouraged to study these through to A-level (or equivalent).

If you have students who are interested in both engineering and medicine, biomedical engineering or molecular bioengineering may be exactly what they are interested in studying.

For 2023, together with the Business School, we are launching our Biomedical Technology Ventures BSc course which is designed to educate and nurture entrepreneurial minded students, equipping them with the skills to identify opportunities for improving human healthcare through the applications of technology, and to seek to achieve rapid transfer of ideas and technology to meet those gaps through entrepreneurship.

We offer talks and workshops for schools to introduce our courses and provide an overview of the admissions process. If you want to find out more, please contact our admissions manager Jayne Shaw.

Hosting Imperial Undergraduate Students

For Primary and Secondary Schools

Wanted - Science teaching and communication placements for enthusiastic undergraduates

After successfully running our Communicating Biomedical Science and Engineering Module for the first time in 2022-23, we are once again looking for placements for some of our 3^rd and 4^th year Bioengineering undergraduate students to experience science teaching and communication in action.

The placements should take place in the spring term for a total of 20-25 hours split over several sessions. Our students have a broad background and can support Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computing classes, afterschool science or coding clubs.

Testimonials from last year's Host Teachers 

‘[The student] delivered a series of fascinating lessons on his research, use of AI and machine learning, and devised a brilliant problem that girls could work on over some weeks, using coding and computing skills in conjunction with chemistry. We are delighted to have hosted [the student], and are incredibly grateful for all the thought and effort that he put into the lessons.’  

'Both students were very keen to be a part of the team here at the school and were incredibly proactive. The children got to know them well and thoroughly enjoyed working with them. They were a pleasure to host.'

'[The student] was an inspirational teacher and worked hard to bring abstract concepts to life. Students thoroughly enjoyed her session. [The student's] clear checks for understanding ensured students were able to confidently progress in their learning.'

'[The student] settled at [the school] very quickly. She was interested to learn everything about [the school]. [the student] built strong relationships with students and staff. She also delivered a great science lesson where students had to build their own electrical circuits. It was my pleasure to host [the student].' 

If you would be interested in hosting a student, please contact Jayne Shaw at be.outreach@imperial.ac.uk 

The Department is involved in a number of Summer Schools annually. 

You can find out more information about the Imperial Summer Schools on the Central Outreach webpages here.  

You can find the list of Summer Schools we ran in Summer 2024 below: 

• Y9 Girls Engineering Summer School - 5th - 8th August 2025. Applications for 2025 are now closed. 
  
• Y10 Insights (for 14-15 year olds) - 30th July - 2nd August 2025. Applications for 2025 are now closed. 
• Y12 Sutton Trust Summer Schools (for Y12 UK state school pupils age 16-17). We offer two exciting summer schools for students interested in Bioengineering; Biomedical Engineering and Molecular Bioengineering. This is an opportunity to find out about our courses through a wealth of talks and interactive activities. The Biomedical Engineering and Molecular Bioengineering Summer Schools will take place between the 15th - 25th of July 2025. Applications for 2025 are now closed. 

For further information about all Imperial Summer Schools and Outreach, check out the central Schools Outreach webpages and newsletter 

This event for 2024 has now passed.

When: Wednesday 9th of October 2:45pm to 4:30pm 

Where: Department of Bioengineering - South Kensington Campus - Royal School of Mines

Target Audience: Years 10, 11 and 12

An afternoon session to discover our Biomedical Technology Ventures BSc course.

Find the full event page here.

Summer Year 12 Work Experience Programme

This event has passed for the year 2024. 

During the five day programme, which this year was run from the 1st till the 5th of July, students received an insight into research being conducted within the Department of Bioengineering, as well as academic careers related to the field of study. This year, the week included a visit to our Bioengineering researchers at our new labs in White City. 

You can view what eligibility requirements we looked for in 2024, as well as find out more about the application process on the Year 12 Work Experience Programme webpage. 

Applications to attend our Year 10 Bioengineering Taster Day are now closed.

Our first Bioengineering Year 10 Taster Day ran to huge success in January 2023 & 2024, and we are excited to present the event again in January 2025. The Taster Day is for high achieving Y10 students from UK schools, who have the potential to study math's and physics and/or chemistry at A-Level. 

The aim of the day is to enable this group of students to discover more about the exciting subject of Bioengineering. In the past, the day has included a taster lecture and interactive workshops.  

We are anticipating the event to take place at our White City Campus, with more detailed information on location to be sent out to successful schools.  

A tentative draft programme for the event can be found below. Please note that this is subject to change.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at be.outreach@imperial.ac.uk  

A brief Introduction to Bioengineering (and optional Personal Statement Talk for Y12 + 13 TBC)

Sign ups for this event will open in mid to late May.  Please revisit this page then for the sign up form.

An introduction to Bioengineering for the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs. This taster afternoon looks to welcome students in Y10-13 interested in studying (or looking to study) Maths and one of the sciences at A-level.

Students in Year 10 and Year 11 are required to be accompanied by a teacher and any applications from this age group must be through their school. We will accept individual applications from Year 12 and 13 students only.

Please note that spaces will be limited, and priority will be given to students from state schools. All other places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. There is an initial limit of 10 students per school.

A Brief introduction to Bioengineering - Wednesday 2^rd July 2025 -Example Programme: