All Ireland MSc in Biomedical Engineering

Jammer01

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Anyone who's doing this full-time in 2010 - see ya in TCD on 6th Sept for Biomechanics....let the fun begin!

Hi Dilbert! Just wondering when you had all your application supporting documents in? Mines were handed in late last week so still waiting to hear if I've been accepted into the FT course. Fingers crossed I hear soon!

You say first lecture is Sept 6th?

Dilbert75

Bit hazy on that to be honest. As I did my degree in UL I don't think I had much to submit other than the application. That was end of June. Only got my place the day before registration - that was 1st week in Sept last year. Had 2 weeks of Medical Sciences starting 8 days later.

Last year Biomechanics followed Med Sci but this year its scheduled first, starting 6th Sept in TCD. Next is Bioinstrumentation in UL 1st week in Nov, the Biomaterials in UCD and UL in Jan, with exams in mid Dec. Can't remember schedule after that but that should get you started.

Good luck with the application - and start stockpiling the sleep - the first module, assignments and its exam are said to be brutal.

solymar

Looks like I'll be joining you in Biomechanics Dilbert Thanks for all the tips on this thread, was really helpful. I'm delighted I got it, there was supposed to be alot of competition.

Dilbert75

solymar wrote: »

Looks like I'll be joining you in Biomechanics Dilbert Thanks for all the tips on this thread, was really helpful. I'm delighted I got it, there was supposed to be alot of competition.

Hey congrats Solymar - hope I've given you an accurate assessment of the course now! Looking forward to it myself at this stage (nearly):eek:

trapper1

Looks like i will be starting on the 6th also (UL) I'm a bit worried about the medical science module how tough is it? its a long time since i studied anything like that ..any pointers in what i should brush up on over the next few weeks?

Dilbert75

trapper1 wrote: »

Looks like i will be starting on the 6th also (UL) I'm a bit worried about the medical science module how tough is it? its a long time since i studied anything like that ..any pointers in what i should brush up on over the next few weeks?

As a UL student, you'll be going to RCSI and will be taught, I presume, by Prof. Clive Lee and his team. As I said earlier, they are undoubtedly the best bunch of teachers I've ever encountered. If you're willing to work at it for the two weeks, the (very weighty) course anatomy book that you'll get on your first day there will be more than enough. Between that and the experience in the anatomy room, you'll be fine. For what its worth, I had no leaving cert biology before I went in - it was tough but everyone in our class passed the written & oral exams (pass/fail basis, not graded).

mar-z

I did the medical science module a few years ago when starting my PhD to brush up on the subject. The course is very intense, especially if you've had a bit of time away from lectures, but it shouldn't be neccessary to do much if any work/brushing up on it before hand as long as your willing to put in the long slog for the two weeks. As Dilbert sais the lecturers are excellent. Overall I really enjoyed the module when I did it so hopefully you'll have a similar experience.

Kivleem

Hi
I am about to embark on MSc,Biomedical science (Medical Microbiology) through the University of Ulster, Coleraine. Would anyone have any idea of career prospects from this and advice on what the best route to take in terms of gaining experience.

austyc

You should check out www.wit.ie/innovative for the M.Sc. in Innovative technology engineering. There is a large emphasis on Biomedical Engineering, where most of the successful graduates of this programme are now employed.

It was awarded the Best PostGraduate Course in Engineering on the Island of Ireland 2011... adjudicated by Engineers Ireland!

Dilbert75

Subtle promotion of the course you're joint leader of there Austin... :rolleyes:

_JRD_

I've been following this (old, I know) thread and so far I've seen nothing but good information. I am also interested in the MSc Bioengineering program, at either UL or TCD, but have a kind of unique question.

I did my undergraduate in mechanical engineering in the US and and am wondering how the entry requirements work with a foreign degree. I see that a 2.1 is the minimum for entry, but what do people "actually" have that get in, and how would that be converted into the American GPA?

Dilbert75

JRD that'll probably depend on the demand for the course in the year you apply. I expect it to be high but if your GPA is high enough that mightn't be a problem. UL operate a QCA system which is (I think) similar to GPA so you may have a slightly better respose there. I suggest you phone (not e-mail) the course leader and see if you can get any advice.

Note that both last year and this year there are several students from non-Irish backgrounds studying this course. So you should by no means expect to be excluded.

_JRD_

Thanks for the input Dilbert. I'll give the course leader at UL a call when I can and try and get some advice from them. This particular course/field is really interesting to me, but right now I'm mainly putting my feelers out and seeing what possibilities there are before I start getting paperwork together.

Since it will have been some time since my undergrad, and I'm not working in a really relevant field right now, I've got a lot of questions. Do you know of any other forums or resources that can help out? I really don't want to turn this thread into something like "what are my odds?" or anything..

Dilbert75

Truth is nobody outside the course admin can tell you what your chances are. I think they were interviewing for places in TCD last year - I'm sure the other colleges were the same. If you're going to go FT you've a better choice (UL, UCD, TCD & NCAD) than PT (UL & TCD).

Again several classmates have had science and electronics backgrounds and several have had quite a few years of industrial experience but not in medical devices, which still seems to count for something.

Remember the principles of Mechanical Eng remain, irrespective of the application. You will learn the Medical Science on the course and there are many undergrads directly out of B.Eng (or whatever) so they have little industrial experience. The only way to know how you stand is to apply. I'd say it'd do no harm though to have had intelligent contact with the course leader - it is he who will decide who is awarded the places.

Leo11221

I got my Building Services degree from DIT last year and am thinking of doing a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, because it's very tough to find work in Building Services at the moment. I live in Dublin so am hoping to do it in either Trinity or UCD. I am just wondering is there much of a difference between the two courses? I've noticed the full time course in UCD is 2 years and is only one year in Trinity. Why is this? does the UCD course cover more stuff or is the Trinity one just more intensive? Also what would my job prospects be when I graduate?

Leo11221

Got called for an interview for Trinity anyway. Anyone have any experience with this, what sort of questions should I expect?

Dilbert75

could have sworn UCD was a 1 year full time course too (though I think TCD offers the 2 year part time option also). If that's the case, both courses are largely the same except for the medical science module - UCD students take the 2 week RCSI course while TCD students take 8x Friday afternoons up to Christmas. Not sure if UCD allow students a choice of the half module in Neural Eng instead of either Rehab or Cell & Tissue Eng. Other than that I think they're the same thing.
No experience of the TCD interview though.

coolnijo

Hi All, good to see a healthy discussion about boimedical engineering. I am planning to enroll for biomedical masters next year from UCD or TCD. I completed my degree in mechanical engineering in 2004 and a post diploma in CAD/CAM. I got 6 -7 years of design experience in different CAD/CAM softwares. I an non EU national and living in Ireland for 2 years now. The fee for EU students in TCD is 2500 and non EU students is 14,000.:eek: I heard that if I am a resident of Ireland for 3 years I am eligible for EU fees. I am on stamp 4 visa. Can somebody throw some light to this matter....

Aido337

Hey guys , currently studying undergrad biomedical engineering , going into third year , any1 have any advice .... I have to say last year was pretty tuff , Im guessing third year and if I make it to 4th year will be horrific , cheers

chris85

Applied on day before deadline (couple of weeks ago) for the TCD full time program. no contact from them yet about further info. Any body else in same boat?

Graduated with degree in Mech a few years ago with a first but due to a bit of bad luck and getting burned a few times by a few companies have been working in unrelated sector.

Kwekubo

Dragging up an old thread here but, for the record, UCD have two courses: the MSc in Bioengineering (discussed in this thread), which is a one-year course, and the ME in Biomedical Engineering, which is a two-year course. The ME students do one or two modules together with the MSc students, but other than that they are separate.

Clint Power

Hey all,

I realise this is a fairly dated thread at this stage but I figured I'd chance a post in hope of any response.

I'm interviewing for a position for this course next week and I'm just wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what to expect. Similarly if anyone's completed the course or currently doing it, I'd love to hear how you found it. Difficult, enjoyable, intense etc. Any response would be hugely appreciated. Cheers!

Dilbert75

Completed it part-time over two years last September. Didn't interview for my place (I did it through UL, think TCD do interviews, think UL are going to be running a different course with NUIG in the future) so can't advise you on that. It's like any course - tries to cover a huge amount from materials to electronics to biomechanics to rehabilitation. Its a massive field so there's a limit to how much you can cover in limited teaching time. But I found it extremely interesting and I'm still benefiting from it in my work (already in medical device industry) - the Medical Science in RCSI was the single best 2 weeks of all the time I've spent in college (if you're going through TCD you do a different Medical Science module).

Clint Power

Thanks a million for the response, Dilbert75. Yeah, I'm interviewing for a place at TCD. It's a shame about the 2 weeks at RCSI, I've read some great things about that, but it's great to hear that you enjoyed it and got a job in the industry. Thanks again!

swjf

Good to see this thread - I've been accepted by UCD onto the part-time MSc in biomedical engineering. I'm a civil engineer (which is obviously not getting me far these days!) with a number of years experience, hoping to change career. Thanks for the info Dilbert - do you know what kind of career prospects there are with this course? The place I'm working in now would have nothing to do with this industry, and I'm worried about trying to find a job with just the Masters and no experience.

PS Clive - I didn't have to interview either for the course, so no help there, sorry.

Kellzer

I am a Civil Engineer who did a masters in biomedical eng and got a first class honours. didnt get one reply from these companies when I applied to every company in the country. in the end i did a springboard quality engineer certification course and through that managed to get an internship with a company. the work i was doing was basically checking paperwork as that is all half the 'engineers' in these places do. no need for biomed degree for these quality and manufacturing jobs. i packed the whole thing in because the work is crap (mindless and repetetive), they treat you like a dog and at best youll get a contract for a year or so off them. theyre not interested in giving permanent jobs. by the way anyone coming from a background that is any way creative or requires problem solving skills avoid these jobs. there is no room for any creativity. youll spend all your days following boring protocols, updating protocols, verifying this that and the other which is basically counting boxes or checking codes off from sheet A against sheet B. Worst most boring profession ever. the dole is not as bad as working in these places. Any civil engineer thinking this is a good career move dont be fooled by the media. there are very few engineers employed by these companies in the overall context of staff numbers. if there are 200 jobs announced, i guarantee only a few are for engineers and these companies use that term loosely. I saw no engineering (not even a calculator) in my time. As for getting into R&D...good luck!

chris85

Kellzer wrote: »

I am a Civil Engineer who did a masters in biomedical eng and got a first class honours. didnt get one reply from these companies when I applied to every company in the country. in the end i did a springboard quality engineer certification course and through that managed to get an internship with a company. the work i was doing was basically checking paperwork as that is all half the 'engineers' in these places do. no need for biomed degree for these quality and manufacturing jobs. i packed the whole thing in because the work is crap (mindless and repetetive), they treat you like a dog and at best youll get a contract for a year or so off them. theyre not interested in giving permanent jobs. by the way anyone coming from a background that is any way creative or requires problem solving skills avoid these jobs. there is no room for any creativity. youll spend all your days following boring protocols, updating protocols, verifying this that and the other which is basically counting boxes or checking codes off from sheet A against sheet B. Worst most boring profession ever. the dole is not as bad as working in these places. Any civil engineer thinking this is a good career move dont be fooled by the media. there are very few engineers employed by these companies in the overall context of staff numbers. if there are 200 jobs announced, i guarantee only a few are for engineers and these companies use that term loosely. I saw no engineering (not even a calculator) in my time. As for getting into R&D...good luck!

I am sure in your first few months in Civil Eng career you dont get to design and build a bridge either. New industry as always must start from bottom, agree quality engineering can be a bit loose with the term Engineer at that level but moving up quality engineering I would imagine could be good when you move into failure analysis which can be an interesting area and heavily used in design. That being said I am not in the biomedical engineering business.

Dilbert75

Jebus Kellzer - you were really anxious to get your message across!:eek:

Like I said on the other thread there are reasonable and unreasonable expectations when you cross specialisations. It remains an employer's market so it's always going to be a challenge for a Civil Eng with this MSc to compete with a Mech / Mfg Eng with the same MSc.

Actually where it will be really difficult to compete is where the Mech / Mfg Eng has had work experience, even a few months, in a manufacturing environment and the Civil has only been on sites. It does emphasise that before making a move like you tried you want to be sure that you're doing so for the right reasons and in the full knowledge of what you're committing to. If you don't like writing and testing to protocols, having multiple checklists, etc. then you probably won't be happy in MedTech for long.

abrb

I want to start a MSc in Biomedical Engineering in September. Does anyone have any advice on which University is best? I am looking at the University of Ulster as it is a 1 year masters. Has any1 done the MSc their??