For Sharon Leung, a devoted healthcare skilled with 15 years of enjoy, the pursuit of an engineering stage may appear a little off path. On the other hand, Sharon’s dedication to lifelong studying and leading edge problem-solving led her to join the net Master of Engineering in Engineering Management program at CU Boulder. With this stage, Sharon is redefining the intersection of healthcare, era, and trade. Based totally in Hong Kong, she works full-time as a Controlled Care Officer for an ISO-certified healthcare services and products supplier whilst finding out part-time. Her tale demonstrates how ingenious upskilling and a willpower to private enlargement may end up in distinctive interdisciplinary experience.
Folding Engineering Practices right into a Profession in Healthcare
With a background in psychology, Sharon spent 12 years operating in a scientific surroundings prior to transitioning into healthcare control. A 12 months and a part in the past, she joined a controlled care workforce, making essential selections that have an effect on healthcare supply. This shift sparked her passion in era and synthetic intelligence (AI) and the way engineering rules may also be built-in into healthcare.
“Other people question me: How is healthcare associated with engineering? How is psychology associated with engineering? To me, studying a brand new set of talents is a wonderful strategy to take on a fancy healthcare subject, in an leading edge approach.”
The Adventure to CU Boulder
Sharon to begin with explored on-line lessons to upskill all the way through the COVID-19 lockdown. She has since finished over 60 non-credit lessons on Coursera out of doors of her stage necessities, deciding on subjects that she knew would extend her considering inside of her occupation. When she found out CU Boulder’s Engineering Management program, she used to be attracted to its flexibility, popularity, and special approach.
“I knew CU Boulder had a powerful popularity as a public analysis college, however I didn’t know they introduced these kind of systems. It used to be a good chance for anyone like me, who doesn’t have a conventional engineering background.“
Not like conventional engineering grasp’s systems that require an undergraduate stage in engineering, CU Boulder’s program embraces various backgrounds. The facility to preview lessons prior to committing to complete tuition used to be a game-changer for Sharon, permitting her to bridge wisdom gaps prior to taking extra complex categories.
A Distinctive Finding out Revel in
Sharon highlights CU Boulder’s supportive on-line surroundings as every other key merit. Not like different on-line systems, the place scholars might really feel remoted, this program supplies get right of entry to to TA’s and a strong peer community.
“We’ve get right of entry to to tutors and professors who resolution our questions. There are workplace hours, lecture movies, and readings—rigorous sufficient for a grasp’s degree program. Plus, the peer evaluate machine is effective as it lets in us to look how different scholars try assignments and we’re ready to be told from each and every different.”
Networking alternatives additionally set this system aside. Via CU Boulder’s college Slack channel, Sharon has attached with pros throughout quite a lot of industries, together with engineers, programmers, and marketers. She relishes the various scholar backgrounds that she will be able to connect to and feels strongly that she is turning into a more potent engineer for the enjoy.
“I’ve made some nice buddies. We percentage articles, speak about new lessons, and improve each and every different. Lots of my classmates are already in management roles, and I be told so much from them.”
The Price of Efficiency-Based totally Admissions (PBA)
Sharon recognizes skepticism surrounding CU Boulder’s Performance-Based Admissions (PBA) model, which permits scholars to turn out their functions thru coursework reasonably than standardized take a look at ratings or prerequisite engineering levels. On the other hand, she emphasizes this system’s rigorous expectancies.
“It’s now not that simple to cross the primary 3 categories. The grading scale is top, and so they be expecting high quality paintings. Everybody I’ve met in this system is a a hit skilled.”
Engineering Control: Past Technical Talents
Whilst technical talents are crucial, Sharon believes that engineering control additionally calls for robust conversation and management talents.
“Managing other people may also be extra essential than simply doing the technical paintings. This program is excellent for people who find themselves excited about engineering however may well be petrified of the tech aspect.”
For Sharon, she used to be ready to sweep up on her wisdom thru further non-credit lessons in techniques engineering, statistics, and AI.
A Long term in Engineering-Pushed Healthcare
Publish-graduation, Sharon targets to leverage her engineering control talents to support healthcare sustainability and potency. She appreciates CU Boulder’s occupation counseling services and products, that have guided her subsequent steps.
“Boulder is truly daring to introduce this program. It’s opening doorways for individuals who may have doable in engineering however don’t have a conventional background. Engineers have the benefit of operating with pros from other fields, and healthcare can achieve so much from engineering approaches—particularly in spaces like error aid and AI-driven answers.”
With a deep interest and a dedication to deep, lifelong studying, Sharon is redefining the worth of what it approach to be an engineer in healthcare. Her adventure at CU Boulder isn’t just about incomes a point however about equipping herself with the talents to form the way forward for the business.
