Elisabeth: championing women and a social conscience

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EUWiSTEM and Augment Bionics were fundamental parts of my University experience.  

EUWiSTEM

I launched the EUWiSTEM society in order to inspire and promote confidence in female STEM students. Broadly speaking the society was aimed at encouraging women to pursue STEM subjects and particularly to continue in STEM as they progress through their careers, as this is crucial with regards to achieving improved gender equality. Watching the society develop in the short time I was running it whilst at University but also since my graduation has been really satisfying. It’s come a long way. It has built a strong following across the University, and the committees have been responsible for leading some really great events. Leaving this legacy at the University and knowing that the Society will continue to positively impact the experiences of future generations of STEM students at Edinburgh brings me great pride. 

Augment Bionics

Augment Bionics was a project led by two former University of Edinburgh students and when I joined the project during my final year, our bigger multi-disciplined team was able to commercialise the project and idea into a company. Augment Bionics started as a medical devices start-up with the initial goal of providing affordable and highly functional 3D printed prosthetics. The company’s values of social responsibility, integrity, and innovation alongside its mission of achieving better high-quality healthcare for all, allowed Augment Bionics to be well positioned in addressing the PPE shortages at the start of the pandemic. When in March 2020, many of us felt powerless, having the opportunity to have a positive contribution through Augment Bionics provided me with a sense of purpose and the motivation to stay positive despite the sobering reality of lockdowns and social distancing.  

I’m very grateful for the work that I was able to do with Augment Bionics in supporting so many in the NHS as well as many frontline healthcare workers abroad. The messages the team and I received from doctors and nurses stating how we essentially were saving lives was incredibly special. Through selflessly working long nights, and weekends we attracted lots of attention from major media outlets and were even featured on the Royal Family Twitter! Receiving orders with these underlying tones of desperation from people on the front lines battling this pandemic everyday shed light on the reality of the situations and the perspective gained from that redefined my attitude towards the pandemic. At the moment Augment Bionics is not trading commercially as the team and I pursue our other career opportunities. I am sure this is not the last you will hear of Augment Bionics and I am excited for all that the future holds. 

Leader and team player

Both of these experiences allowed me to develop as a leader and team player, and the success of these ventures would not have been possible without the total support of the University.  

I have many fond memories of my time at Edinburgh. It was during my time as a student where I made lifelong friendships that have spanned from my first day as a Fresher up until today. Graduation day in July 2019 is also one of my favourite memories as it was the perfect conclusion to an incredible 5 years. Although it was bittersweet having my time at University come to an end, being able to celebrate with family and friends is an experience I hold close to my heart especially as I reflect on how much the world has changed since then. 

Outside of what was taught in the lecture halls and the labs some of my biggest takeaways from my time at University were through the extra curricular activities I was involved in. In particular I feel that I learned a great deal from my peers and colleagues. To me, the University of Edinburgh is a place where people from diverse backgrounds and experiences can come together and collaborate in an effort to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. One example of this was my involvement with Augment Bionics where I was honoured to work alongside a dedicated, dynamic, and impressive team. It’s unlikely that our paths would have crossed was it not for the opportunity and platform that Edinburgh gave us to work towards our shared vision of making a difference in our local and global communities. 

Proud

The idea of making the world around us a better place is seen all throughout the University in the activities of students, the dedication of staff, and the accomplishments of alumni. I’ve witnessed this first hand as I’ve worked with current Women in STEM students and been impressed with their willingness and determination to organise timely events (over the summer of 2020) to address topics such as racial disparities in STEM, and the effects of the pandemic on gender equality. The wide breadth of the Edinburgh community is not lost upon me and I found this to be ever apparent when I moved to the US in 2019 where through organising the University of Edinburgh Philadelphia alumni club I was able to connect with people who’ve had similar experiences. This is what makes Edinburgh, Edinburgh and one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a University of Edinburgh graduate.  

Though many told me that my years at University would be some of the best of my life, it was hard to understand why. Since graduating, I’ve come to realise this sentiment to be true. It is difficult to imagine another time in my life where I will have the freedom to learn, develop, and explore all at the same time. My early years of University were a time of adjustment as I had moved to a new country (and continent) but if I could go back in time I would encourage myself to have participated in more activities and extra curriculars in the early years. There are so many incredible opportunities at the University of Edinburgh and having the courage to try more new things would have further enhanced a superb student experience.  

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