For Daniel Kim, the chance to help improve people’s lives was an opportunity he couldn’t resist. “I can help people with the machines that I design or create in many ways,” says the biomedical engineering student.
“I studied a bachelor of electronics engineering, but I have always been interested in the medical field as well.”
The combination of the medical and engineering fields saw the Korean student choose to study a Master of Engineering (Biomedical) at Flinders University in South Australia. “This course is about biomedical instrumentation and medical devices that can inspect and assist people in various ways,” he says of his studies.
Adelaide lifestyle
Daniel moved to Adelaide because of his Flinders degree, yet he was pleasantly surprised by the city and the surrounding environment.
“Adelaide is much more affordable than other cities in Australia,” he says of his new home. “The accessibility of the beaches is one of the reasons I chose to study here as well!”
Why choose to study in Australia at Flinders?
The industry reputation of the Flinders Master of Engineering (Biomedical) course was a key selling point for Daniel.
“I chose Flinders because it has a good curriculum for biomedical engineering,” says Daniel. He cites the respected research reputation as an important factor for his decision.
“There is also the Flinders Medical Centre on campus at Bedford Park. In addition, there is biomedical research centre in Tonsley – so there were lots of reasons for choosing Flinders.”
Excellence in teaching and learning
Daniel loves to be in the laboratories, doing practical and hands-on learning. “Since most of the topics have practicals or laboratories, it makes me more excited to learn and motivates me to participate in many activities,” he says of his studies. Combined with theory and lectures, he has “…learnt more about the topics in a practical way.”
Campus and facilities
All of Daniel’s postgraduate engineering course is taught on the Tonsley Campus.
Closely located to the main Bedford Park campus, the high-tech Tonsley campus houses state-of-the-art facilities – and centrally locates computer science, engineering and mathematics.
Alongside the Medical Device Research Institute and Centre for NanoScale Science Technology, the Tonsley Innovation District is home to some of Adelaide’s biggest businesses and industries. It provides students the ability to engage with leading business enterprises – bringing real industry experiences and practice into the classroom.
No. 1 in SA in Engineering for learning resources and teaching quality (postgraduate) The Good Universities Guide 2020, public SA-founded universities only
Additionally, Tonsley hosts the New Venture Institute, an entrepreneurial incubator that has launched over 325 start ups.
“I love to come to Tonsley,” says Daniel of his campus. “The facilities are magnificent and the building is almost brand new. There are all the things that I need for study except for the library, at Bedford Park, just 10 minutes away.”
Postgraduate career plans
For his immediate future, Daniel will be doing his industry-based placement in the coming summer. In the meantime, he has taken subjects in work placement preparation. “It helped me to re-create my resume and cover letter. I was also given information on opportunities that I can do for placement in the future,” he says. As for longer-term career ambitions?
“I would like to work as a biomedical engineer who can develop and maintain medical devices. If it is possible, I would love to work with patients who need assistive technologies.”
Advice for prospective international students?
“When it comes to the accomplishments of study, there is a lot of research going on so that you will able to get a great chance to participate with it,” says Daniel.
“If you are looking for a friendly, welcoming environment, you should choose to study at Flinders,” says Daniel of the community. “This semester was very tough – more so than a normal semester.”
We’ve been busy at Flinders University during the COVID19 crisis. Building a healthy online community is vital during this time, and the staff at Flinders International are dedicated to doing all they can to make students far from home, and those studying from home, feel part of the larger community.
“This was my first semester here in Australia, and I saw their effort to go through this hard situation. I do appreciate it.”