Conversation with Hasmik Chilingaryan - BioMed Student in the UAE

Today, we are going to have another conversation with our new guest, Hasmik Chilingaryan! Hasmik is currently studying at University of Birmingham Dubai, and as I know that many of you guys are interested in this major, I have asked her a list of questions that you may wonder! Hopefully through this conversation, you are able to understand more about the major, as well as what is it like to be studying in the UAE as an international student.

1) for biomed, in college do people teach all over again, so do they expect certain background knowledge already?

This really depends on what curriculum you have done in high school! I did Alevels (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Further Mathematics) and I found that in my first semester we took a lot of content that was covered in A-level biology and some simple chemistry. For some of other curriculums they found new information but this was my experience with semester 1 mainly. after that in year 2 everything starts becoming indepth and more medical focused, with the proper medical terminology and explanations which is where everything you've done in high school starts making sense.

2) does it surround biology, or also other sciences? And does it have a lot of math, in your experience?

In biomedical science it is heavily focused on human biology. from my experience and in comparison to my friends in medical schools we do pretty much the same topics and depth of knowledge. The difference is that we are more focused on the research, lab and science aspect instead of the medical doctoral perspective. We do still cover medical cases and conditions but all in relation to the biological processes we learn and specific to the science of them. So overall, biomedical science so far has been biology focused completely, with some chemistry in the biochemistry and pharmacology modules. There is almost no maths, it's just substitutions into medical equations lol.

3) what jobs do you think of pursuing with a degree in this field?

This is a really good question! So with a biomedical science degree, a person can first choose to continue with medical school and become a doctor. Or you can go into the world of research and basically it's really up to you what you want to research... i know seniors w biomed degrees in pharmacy, drug designs, biotech, plant medicine, biobanking, biomedical science researchers, lab technicians, business owners, It really varies, especially since you get to choose your specialty for your 3rd year of bachelors degree.

4) I saw that you go to university of Birmingham with the campus in the UAE, so do you apply directly to that school, or do you apply to the one in England but got transferred here? Also, if you apply directly, does the application process look the same as for the UK?

Yep, I just finished my first yr in UoBDubai campus – for the UAE campus you apply separately however you can find all the details and application system on the main Birmingham site (there's a lil UK | Dubai toggle in the top right corner that changes between the campuses). There is the option to also transfer from the main campus in the UK to the UAE (year abroad) if you do not want to come to the UAE directly, and the same thing is vice versa. For biomedical science UOBDubai has a unique detail where we get the opportunity to complete our 3rd year of our degree (mandatory) in the UK campus, which personally I had applied to the UK initially (via UCAS in october) then discovered this alternative in the UAE and decided to finalise with UoBDubai as it was best for me. The application process is pretty much the same as everything you have to submit first the UK universities (UCAS), only difference is that you have to submit directly to the dubai campus separately from your UK (UCAS) universities

5) Do you think college much differs from high school when it comes to the school body and stuff like that?

Honestly it depends on where you go to for university, for UoBDubai's case it's very similar to high school with the school body and environment. We are only just starting to grow in student body size, with every year having twice as much intake as the yr before! Clubs and societies are diverse however as a UK university they are not a priority as much that academics is. Academics vs Extracurriculars is the biggest difference between the UK and the USA.

6) What do you about the UAE as a whole, where you’re currently studying?

The UAE specifically Dubai, it's everything all at once, and there's a lot of things to do for everyone, no matter your interests… Weathers are kinda weird, you get boiling hot summers and breezy, rainy winters. But mind you things can get really expensive here in dubai especially as an international student.