Amy Distiller
Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology)
I chose Swinburne after being impressed by the warm and welcoming environment on Open Day as well as the testimonials I’d heard from friends and current students. Another aspect that genuinely appealed to me was the university’s smaller size in comparison to other universities, affording its students a degree of ‘personal intimacy’; known by their name and not simply by a student number.
Swinburne’s smaller class sizes provide a seamless transition from high school to university, which is beneficial for science students in terms of the practical classes where the time spent in the laboratory is maximised with greater individual attention translating to better results and an increased confidence. Another appealing aspect of my experience at Swinburne is that I’ve found the lecturers to be very approachable when it comes to assistance with coursework or advice in addition to the fact many first year lecturers also take various subjects in consecutive years resulting in a unique sense of continuity throughout the course.
Furthermore, what was particularly important to me was the strong emphasis that Swinburne places on the practical aspects of its courses in addition to the IBL year, resulting in its science graduates being highly regarded by employers giving them a competitive advantage over other graduates.
Careers in the Curriculum, a recently introduced compulsory subject across all courses was also invaluable as it assisted us with resume writing and cover letters where the IBL component of the course enabled us to apply our newly acquired skills to job applications and interviews, giving us a head start with the graduate job application process.
The Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) appealed to me due to the fact that biotechnology is an exciting and innovative field of science fostering critical thinking in order to address society’s current and future challenges.
What particularly appealed to me was the diversity of this emerging science with its three main branches – agricultural, industrial and medical biotechnology, ranging from the genetic engineering of microbes to assist with the degradation of plastics, the exploitation of spider silk for army parachutes, the recombinant (genetically engineered) production of plants with increased iron content for third-world countries as well as gene therapy to help combat disorders such as cystic fibrosis and adenosine deaminase deficiency.
I chose to study biotechnology at Swinburne as it would foster my passion to use science to help make a difference. My favourite aspect of the course was reading journal articles and literature for an essay that I wrote in first year entitled ‘plantibodies’ – the production of recombinant antibodies. I found it fascinating that plantibodies have the potential to become commonplace in the not-too-distant future and am also quite keen to further explore this particular application of biotechnology once I graduate
Read about Amy's Industry-Based Learning Experience
