Overview

This event introduced girls between the ages of 15 and 18 to the world of biomedical engineering through interactive presentations, group discussions with qualified engineers, video demonstrations, an in-depth Q&A session, and a hands-on microcontroller programming exercise to analyse photoplethysmography signals. The benefits of having attended this workshop included:

1. Learning about the engineering and biomedical engineering field to assess whether this is a viable career option
   
2. Gaining resources to plan a career in biomedical engineering
   
3. Interacting with biomedical engineering graduates and mentors
   
4. Developing technological skills in coding, sensor interfacing, and biomedical signals through a hands-on biomedical engineering activity

Roles and Responsibilities

Within my role as ambassador for the WomEng #1MillionGirlsinSTEM initiative, I created, planned, and presented a Biomedical Unpacked Workshop. The creation of this event included:

• Designing a proposal for WomEng to introduce the benefits of this novel event.
• Planning a whole day workshop inclusive of presentation content, hands-on coding activity, participant handout, volenteer hand outs and volunteer training.
• Fundraising via the School of Electrical and Information Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand for the requisite Arduino microcontrollers.
• Installing the relevant software onto rented laptops.
• Producing adverts, recruiting participants and producing application content.
• Screening applicants and producing indemnity forms.

Skills:

Event Planning, Fundraising, Participant Recruiting, Photoplethysmography Reading, STEM Education, Workshop Creation