Inspiring the Next Generation to Secure the Future of Innovation in MedTech
People often ask why I decided to become an engineer and it’s a very simply answer - at the age of 11, I joined my school’s Young Engineers Club and we started designing and building an electric race car; I was hooked. It seems such a cliché to credit a teacher with my blossoming interest in engineering; but it’s true that without the enthusiasm and unwavering patience of the teaching staff in our technology department, I wouldn’t have even considered engineering as a career.
In my final year of my Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering I took a Human Structures for Engineers module. We looked at the human body from a mechanical viewpoint and learned how to apply basic mechanical principles to almost any moving part of the body, exploring how to fix the body when it goes wrong. I knew then that I had found something that I really enjoyed and was good at! That module drove me to stay at university an extra year for a Masters in Bioengineering.
“Bioengineer” is a broad term that describes someone who can specialise in a variety of topics from stem cell research, to medical imaging, to prosthetic limbs and joints. Generally, the overall aim is to improve patients’ health and quality of life through engineering. We work in a rapidly changing environment with cutting edge technologies, applying them in a medical setting to address the world’s changing health dilemmas. STEM careers are often seen as traditional and dull - full of calculus and spreadsheets. There’s an element of that; but it’s also one of the most creative industries in the world. The technologies available to us, the patient issues we are solving, and even the regulations we’re bound by, demand that we innovate constantly to ensure we are providing the best solutions to our customers and patients. The satisfaction of hearing patient stories about how a hip or knee replacement changed their lives is immense. With more people living longer and an aging population, improving healthcare for patients through innovative medical technology is a necessity that’s not going to disappear.
To meet this demand, we need to nurture and develop the talent pool to join the industry in the years to come. And that means inspiring today’s children and future students to follow a STEM career, just as my teacher did for me. It’s about broadening the dreams and possibilities of all – regardless of gender, race or background. This is something I’m incredibly passionate about and why I lead the STEM outreach team at our Leeds site.
Every interaction a STEM professional has with young people is an opportunity to show them a positive STEM role model and open their eyes to a new career choice. That interaction can be hands on workshops; speed networking; career pathway presentations; site visits, etc. Quite rightly, a lot of focus is given to how diverse the STEM role models are out there. We are lucky at J&J that we have a diverse network of volunteers throughout our business in terms of race, gender, educational background and upbringing. Whether it’s through the volunteers themselves, or through the examples and images they use, we always try to be inclusive in how we present the opportunities in MedTech; it’s important to make sure that we don’t discourage exactly those we are trying to inspire!
In 2017, our STEM outreach team hosted 23 events reaching over 2,300 young people, showing them exactly what a career in medical engineering looks like. I feel proud to have a career in MedTech - it’s innovative, diverse and ultimately helps people all over the world. And it’s on those of us already in the industry to teach young people about the amazing opportunities available to them. We need to get out from behind our safety shoes and Excel spreadsheets to go and inspire young people to choose a career in STEM.
Emma Bowyer is a Bioengineer at DePuy Synthes, part of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies