This summer, I spent 12 weeks working for a product design and innovation consulting firm in Cambridge, UK. I participated in client meetings, project reviews, brainstorming efforts, criteria development sessions, and company wide meetings. While the work as a consultant was challenging and extremely interesting and applicable to my education in engineering, learning about aspects of British culture and startup companies also intrigued me. This “tripled-edged-sword” of new realms (consulting, in the British workplace, at a startup company; all new things for me) was an exciting place for me to be this summer as I continued to discover my interest in diversity. There’s the diversity of each day, working on a different project, with different people, for a different client. There’s the language difference between UK and US English and all the amusing misunderstanding that come from it. And there’s the infrastructure of a company built from the ground up by people who are achieving their entrepreneurial dreams, personally invested in their work. Each of these aspects was extremely interesting to observe and participate in. I believe my exposure to these new areas and approaches will help me in many of my future endeavors.

Highlights from my relevant work experience include:

• Led company wide brainstorming initiatives to determine creative space for development of novel materials for launch in client’s breakthrough product line.
• Applied Biomedical Engineering knowledge to medical device development project for Ethicon Endo-Surgery.
• Interviewed potential development candidates to highlight to client the technical leaders and researchers with a specific formulation capability.
• Researched and brainstormed emerging market needs to develop market entrance strategy.
• Developed sensation models for sensate encapsulation and release understanding for development of skin care reapplication indicators.

I lived with a wonderful woman named Pam. She knew the city of Cambridge inside and out, having raised her two sons in the same house and working as an elementary school teacher for over 30 years. She gave me travel advice, took me to my first tea-room experience, and was always there to laugh with me about my latest miscommunication at work or answer my questions about quirky British cultural tendencies. She was a wonderful hostess and I feel my time in the UK would not have been nearly as educational or rewarding without her guidance.

Cambridge itself has a very academic, highly educated feel to it. However, it also reminded me of West Lafayette in the sense that there is also a “townie” influence – but in Cambridge their expression for this feud between the locals and the University was called the “town and gown” tension. The term “gown” comes from the “May Balls” that each respective college hosts in May after final exams are completed. It’s their way of celebrating the end of a school year in a very posh and elaborate way. I experienced May Ball season by sitting in a boat (called a “punt”) on the River Cam enjoying the firework displays that occurred each night during May Ball week.

This international work experience was highly rewarding – to say “I enjoyed my job” is quite an understatement. Working with such highly educated colleagues has encouraged me to stay here at Purdue to complete my Masters in Biomedical Engineering so I can later pursue a career in consulting. The cultural experience was eye opening and truly practical in learning how to communicate to a group of people who uses the same English language so differently than I’m used to. Being in situations outside of my comfort zone pushed me to a new level of personal growth and discovery. This opportunity for personal growth is truly a priceless and I will always treasure the experience - it is a testament to all the great opportunities that Purdue has to offer its students.