BioDesign BN 3101
What is BN 3101 a premier MedTech Design module?
A premier undergraduate engineering module in the design of medical devices.
The end point is the fruits of your labor by creating an intangible asset at the end of this module.
This module has been repeatedly voted as the most valuable undergraduate module by the alumni of BN3101.
No matter what career path the alumni has taken the lessons taught in this module have proven to be invaluable and applicable. Why is this so?
What is being taught in BN3101?
Problem statement by consultant
Concept selection by brainstorming
Technology deep dive
Identify the unmet need
Finalise Design criteria
Strategic Planning
Project scheduling using Gantt chart
Rapid prototyping
Market intelligence and project valuation
Design verification
Design Freeeze based 3, 6, 9 and 10
Design history file
Product launch
How many medical device companies are there in Singapore?
There are not that many medical device companies in Singapore. Venture Corp has a large medtech division employing 200 medtech engineers. Medtronic also has its global Centre of Excellence (CoE) for business model innovation in Singapore to design, test and scale new business models for the rapidly growing developing markets across Asia. Other than these two large companies there are not that many medical device companies in Singapore.
There is a good chance that your eventual career may not involve the design of medical device. But why are so many alumni of this course still find BN3101 to be invaluable. From what alumni has learned about patent due diligence in BN3101many have gone on to take the graduate course on IP management at NUS and ended up as Patent Engineers or as registered patent agent.
How will BN3101 help you in your career?
In the future, for those of you who are in executive position or in charge of project management you will find what you learn n BN3101 to be 100% relevant as shown in my reconfigured points below.
Project concept selection by brainstorming
Project background deep dive
Identify the unmet needs that would make the project a compelling proposition
Finalise initial project criteria
Strategic Planning starting from mission statement to action items
Project scheduling using Gantt chart
Initial project trial
Market intelligence and project valuation to ensure a valid value proposition
Project viability verification with stricter project criteria
Project criteria freeze based 3, 6 amd 9
Project launch based on freezed criteria
This is all very nice to say but can you give us a real live example?
A real life example of Mr. Koh Yong Guan. A heart warming story of a former biomedical engineer.
Mr. Koh was trained as a biomedical engineer with a master degree in nephrology at the University of Toronto.
When he returned to Singapore in the 1970's he was posted at SGH as a biomedical engineer. The field was so new that the hospital didn't know what to do with him. He was absorbed into the Administrative Service in July 1979.
He took everything he learned in biomedical engineering and applied them to his new career in administration and high finance. He was the Permanent Secretary for Health in 1996. He then became the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 1998. In 2009 he became Chairman of SMRT Corporation Limited. He was the CEO of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore from Sep 1992 to 1997. He then became the Chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board from July 2005 onwards. He is also the non-resident High Commissioner to Canada from Jan 2008. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1995 for his significant contributions to IRAS. He has retired from the Administrative Service on 1 June 2005.
There you have it, an illustrious career of a former biomedical engineer. The moral of this story is that just apply the same principles you learned in BN3101 will be a in good footing no matter what career path you have chosen.
Summarised here with the permission of Mr. Koh Yong Guan.