Medical Devices in Ireland Study Abroad Experience

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Over spring break, I went to Ireland for 10 days for the Medical Device Development and Manufacturing Tour in Ireland study abroad. The class I took was through the biomedical engineering program and was offered as a Short Term Engineering Program (STEP). STEPs abroad allow for shorter international experiences and provide an alternative to being abroad for an entire semester.


Dublin, Ireland

My Class

Through the study abroad program, I earned 3 credits for BME 49500. For engineering majors with a “technical elective” requirement, this class can potentially fulfill that. In addition to our week in Ireland, we had two class sessions before the trip to get us ready and one afterward to reflect on everything we’d experienced. Leading up to the trip, we gave presentations on Irish culture and the country’s medical field. We also wrote essays on those same topics, which made up a big part of the class component of the program. Through our assignments and class sessions, I was really excited and felt prepared going into the week abroad.


Abbott in Clonmel

Medical Device Development

Ireland is a global MedTech hub and is home to 18 of the world’s top 25 medical device manufacturers. Throughout the week, we toured several leading companies, including Medtronic in Galway, Fort Wayne Metals in Castlebar, Cook Medical in Limerick, and Abbott in Clonmel. These visits took place on weekday mornings and allowed us to see the production and demonstration of medical devices up close. At Medtronic, we spoke directly with the engineers behind their devices. At Fort Wayne Metals, we toured the facilities where medical device wires are produced. At Cook Medical, we talked with biomedical engineers and even got to try out the application of some of their devices ourselves. At Abbott, a manufacturing engineer walked us through how their devices are assembled. While in Galway, we also received a tour of the University of Galway’s biomedical engineering facilities.


Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

Experiences

While the main focus of the trip was medical device manufacturing and development, we had plenty of time during our 10 days in Ireland to explore the cities we stayed in and go on exciting excursions. We spent our first two nights in Dublin, where we toured Glasnevin Cemetery and celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day in the city. We took a day trip to Northern Ireland, where we visited Giant's Causeway, famous for its unique hexagonal basalt columns formed by ancient volcanic activity. On the way back, we stopped at the Titanic Museum in Belfast, the city where the ship was built. I saw even more breathtaking views at the Cliffs of Moher. I also loved seeing so many castles in Ireland! We had dinner at Bunratty Castle, walked the grounds of Blarney Castle (where I kissed the Blarney Stone for good luck!), and got a guided tour of Kilkenny Castle. On our last day, we took an Irish dance lesson, which was the perfect way to wrap up our time in Ireland.


Cliffs of Moher

Takeaways

I am so grateful to have gone on this trip, not only because I learned more about the biomedical engineering field, something I was initially unfamiliar with, but also because I experienced new cultures. I am pursuing a minor in Global Engineering Studies through the Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE) program, which requires me to spend time abroad. This summer, I’ll be completing research in Germany, and during my junior year spring semester, I’ll study abroad in Spain. Traveling to Ireland over spring break was my first time overseas, and it gave me an exciting first glimpse into the world of global engineering.



Maddie French, CompE '27 

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