Headstart 2015

Headstart Summer School students pose with the prosthetic arms they made in the bioengineering session

Staff demonstrate latest technology at Imperial Festival

Student Ambassadors at Open Day

Bioengineering Ambassadors at June Open Day 2023

PhD student explains his research to members of the public at the Imperial Festival

Year 10 Bioengineering Taster Day January 2023

Eng Sum Sch

Engineering Summer School students test out the oculus rift as part of the bioengineering session.

Year 10 Bioengineering Taster Day - Spine Workshop

Outreach

The department of Bioengineering supports a wealth of activities as well as running specific department events aimed at raising awareness of this exciting subject, enriching teaching and supporting students and key stakeholders through the application process. 

Events we run and support include Taster Days, Summer Schools, Offer Holder Days and School Visits.  Further details of upcoming events can be found below and are advertised in the College Outreach newsletter.

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact Jayne Shaw, our Admissions and Outreach Manager by email at be.outreach@imperial.ac.uk   

 

Information for Schools

What is bioengineering?

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.

HE Advisors

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

codingMaths and physics are core requirements for studying Biomedical Engineering  and maths and chemistry are 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 BSc Biomedical Technology Ventures 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

Open Days

Undergraduate Open Days are also scheduled to take place in June 2024. These days are a great way to find out about studying at Imperial.

You can find out more about our department from our Bioengineering Virtual Open Day  which includes talks, tours, Q&As and other resources to help inform your future decisions. 

We look forward to welcoming you to Imperial in the near future.

Recommended resources

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 its relevance to them.  There are lots of resources available online but here are a few we would recommend.


Primary school (age 5-11)Secondary school (age 11-18)
Engineering adventures - a good introduction to engineering for primary age-group  Biobuilder - a good introduction to synthetic biology
National STEM centre - lots of primary science and maths resources available  National STEM centre - lots of secondary science and maths resources available 
I'm an engineer - suitable for primary and secondary age-groups I'm an engineer - suitable for primary and secondary age-groups
BBC Bitesize Science - primary science resources Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) - lots of competitions and resources suitable for secondary age-group
Primary Engineer - an institute of engineering to inspire primary engineers Isaac Physics - a range of resources to support physics and maths teaching and learning
Crest star - primary students can solve STEM challenges through practical investigation Crest - enables students to build their skills and demonstrate personal achievement in project work
Summary of the table's contents

Summer Schools

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.  

  • Y9 Girls Engineering Summer School 
  • Y10 Insights (for 14-15 year olds) 
  • 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 and 19th of July 2024. Applications for 2024 will open on the 9th of January, and close on the 7th of March. All decisions will be communicated by the 3rd of May. 

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

 

 
 

Talks for schools

propsSchool 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 to discuss further and look to arrange a suitable date. 

Meet the Researcher Webinar Series

This series includes talks by researchers from Bioengineering allowing you to find out how they got to where they are now, what excites them about their field of research and what their current projects are on.

 

Work Experience

 Y12 Work Experience 

We are offering a limited number of work experience placements in the department for 2024. This is a non-residential programme which aims to provide participants with an insight into the exciting world of study and research that we are proud of here at the department of bioengineering, Imperial College London.

This year's Work Experience Programme will run from the 1st of July to the 5th of July 2024. 

Applications will open on the 9th of January 2024, and will close on the 6th of March 2024. All decisions will be released by the 3rd of May 2024. 

For information on eligibility requirements and how to apply, please view the Schools Outreach page

 

Hosting Bioengineering Undergraduate Students

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 3rd and 4th 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 

 

Year 10 Bioengineering Taster Day

 

Applications to attend our Year 10 Bioengineering Taster Day 2024 are now now closed.

Applications for 2025 will open in November 2024.