Bioengineering's Professional Development Seminar series gives students valuable insights

Outside of being capable engineers, employers are demanding professional skills from their prospective employees. At Temple Engineering job fairs, recruiter events and alumni visits, students are gaining insights and opportunities that can set them apart in the job market.

This spring, in a series of bi-weekly presentations, industry and others from non-academic professions have visited to share the wisdom they gained in their career paths. Led by Assistant Professor in Bioengineering Dr. Evangelia Bellas, visitors divulge these insights and discuss career options with students. Recently, Dr. Peter M. Moore shared his experiences from earning his Ph.D. at MIT to cultural differences while working in Singapore.

During her doctorate, Dr. Bellas worked on a start-up team, placing 4th in their university's $100K New Ventures Competition. Although the company hasn't launched, she gained a new perspective. She believed there was value in students learning about opportunities in fields beyond academia. "I really wanted to give the students a chance to hear about what daily life would be like in a different career for them using their Bioengineering degree." she said. "Students are really excited to hear from non-academics. It's been really helpful to hear outside speakers talk about what they do. They're happy to hear about what can help them, in their time here, be better prepared for other types of jobs."

Dr. Moore began his discussion by talking about the importance of job safety, after almost tripping over a power cord in the seminar room. He noted that in his field, a slide or briefing about job safety, called a "safety moment" almost always leads off presentations. He continued by discussing the research he did at MIT that eventually led to professional positions working with the multinational corporation, Evonik Industries, and where he eventually led their team to build their new production plant in Singapore. "We go where the business is" said the Ontario native, who now works for Evonik in Horsham, PA. Students learned about bridging cultural differences (foreigners think Baywatch is an accurate portrayal of American life) and how to allocate energy on projects between interpersonal and task efforts.

As is true in other fields, the diverse set of speakers over the year come from the network of connections in the Bioengineering department. Dr. Moore was secured to visit after his wife, Dr. Tara Moore, was invited by Dr. Ruth Ochia. She discussed the path she took after her doctorate which led to her work as a Managing Engineer at JP Research, Inc, and her expertise in accident reconstruction for injury analysis. Dr. Bellas is championing extracurricular activities that help students gain perspective but also to also help the department gain reputation in the community. "Building those bridges and those relationships help our department grow," she said. "Also our students have connections where they can go after grad school, after undergrad. If the industries see that Temple Bioengineering produces good students then they'll come back to hire our students in the future."