Department: Bioengineering
My name is Shruti Vasudev; my family
are Indian but I’ve lived in Kenya all my life as part of the large Indian
ex-pat community there. I’m nineteen and studying first year bioengineering
here at Sheffield. When I arrived I decided to join the International
Ambassador Scheme and I’ve recently returned from Kenya where I was giving
talks on studying at Sheffield and coming to live in the UK to students at
Schools where I grew up.
How did you decide
to study Bioengineering?
At first I wasn’t very sure if I wanted
to do engineering or medicine, because I really liked biology but at the same
time I really liked maths and physics. When I found out about bioengineering it
seemed like the perfect combination for me and when I read about the course
content at Sheffield I was very interested in doing it here too.
The subject is very interesting, I’m
very intrigued by a lot of the modules and we have amazing tutors. Sheila
MacNeil is my role model; she’s just amazing. Everything about bioengineering
suits me very well, all my interests are what I’m studying so it’s a lot of
fun.
What are your plans
for after you finish your degree?
Well I’d like to finish my Masters
then work in industry for a year first and eventually I’d like to do my MBA and
maybe start my own company. My dad owns a business for cardiac surgery
equipment, so In the future I’d like my own company, maybe something like
medical imaging.
What have you been
doing through the International Ambassador Programme?
This was, undoubtedly, my best
experience ever. It was about telling people what we offer at Sheffield, the
kind of engineering degrees we do and basically to encourage people to come
here. I went to my junior and senior schools at Oshwal Academy. It was so much
fun going back to people you know, and they remembered me from last year.
The teachers were all there too and they were so proud that one of their
students was in the University and had come back to represent [Sheffield]. That
was a really big feeling.
“Every university
should have a scheme like this! I went to Kenya but other students went to
other countries and this will make such a big difference” - Shruti Vasudev
One of the other schools I visited,
Nairobi Jaffery was a really good experience too. It is a Muslim school and a
lot of girls came to my presentation. I think they were surprised to see a girl
talking about engineering and to hear that they could do it too. They often
come from quite conservative families that don’t always believe in girls taking
up something like engineering and when they heard from me that girls can do it
and we have jobs all over the world, it meant a lot to them.
“a lot of girls
came to my presentation- I think they were surprised to see a girl talking
about engineering and to hear that they could do it too” - Shruti Vasudev
How have you found
the audience reaction to your talks?
It’s been really interesting and
positive. After I went to the Jaffrey School a lot of the girls’ parents rang
me to ask how I was finding it, things like is it a male dominated class? Are
there other girls studying with me, how it was on the whole to adjust to the UK
and if it was safe for a girl to be there? They were so interested to
know how I was managing not just as a person but as a girl. After the talks
some of the teachers came up and asked me to tell them about the course as
well. When my biology teacher went back to her class all the boys said “OK
today, let’s not study today, tell us about bioengineering a little
more!”
It’s a new scheme
this year, how do you feel it has gone so far?
Every university should have a scheme
like this! I went to Kenya but other students went to other countries and this
will make such a big difference. I know personally a lot of students will be
considering engineering that wouldn’t have done so before. Definitely. This
scheme is undoubtedly fantastic, it’s such a big thing.
My family in India are teachers and
this has been so positive for me that I’m hoping that I can arrange to go and
speak in some Indian schools next time I visit.
Do you plan on
going back again?
Yes definitely I would love to do
this. At the end of the day, it’s such a good feeling knowing that, if I've not
made a difference to someone’s life, then at least shown them a path they may
not have considered before. That’s such a good feeling, especially when at the
end of every presentation a few boys and girls come around and asked questions.
I feel like I’ve helped them at least a little bit in choosing a career.
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