Amelia is a 3rd year Bioengineering undergraduate. She has followed her interests in medicine, and her creativity, into engineering.

Great teaching is hugely important to Amelia and she were not an engineer, she thinks she would teach: “Teachers shape the next generation. Whether a student likes a subject or not is most of the time down to the teacher. I learnt that with my sciences; I hated them until I went to the right school with the right teachers.”

“I wanted to become a doctor but my Physics teacher in sixth-form inspired me to consider a career in engineering. Bioengineering is an amazing cross between medicine and engineering, and it allows me to be creative and innovative.”

Making lives better

As part of a group project, Amelia has been working on a prototype for a hydrogel bandage that can be used as a drug delivery system. “These bandages could also change surgery forever as they could be used in place of sutures which at times cause tissue damage and infection.”

To help make engineering more diverse and inclusive, Amelia would like to see universities reach out with “workshops in communities where there are more BAME students. This would inspire and expose more students to consider engineering. The workshops can include Q&As on engineering as a career path, one-on-one mentoring and potentially insight days.”

Outside of Imperial, Amelia uses her skills in graphic design, and works as a youth leader, for Pulse Community — a social enterprise operating across the UK. “Their aim is to actively bring positive change to every area; especially for young people, through the implementation of community mentors. Special focus is given to areas that are deemed ‘disadvantaged.’”

Amelia says that in 2019 alone, the organisation has invested over £300,000 into start-ups and community projects in the UK. “In the future I hope to use the experience and knowledge I gain at Imperial as an engineer, to tackle societal problems with the help and guidance of Pulse Community.”