# Enhancing Undergraduate Bioengineering Education through Engaged Service Learning, Clinical Immersion, and Entrepreneurship

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARLINGTON · 2022 · $42,048

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 The need to supplement our research education program is based on fostering improved research career
development for our undergraduates as well as additional participants for our clinical immersion program. This
supplement request will directly help to enhance student practical experience. Biomedical engineering graduates
entering the workforce can struggle due to under-developed soft skills, critical thinking, or the clinical mindset
needed to succeed in a professional biomedical team setting. To address this need, we propose to enhance our
curriculum by facilitating earlier exposure to hands-on team based design and experiential learning in clinical
and industry relevant practice. We will specifically implement new components of a team service-learning design
course at the sophomore level, a summer clinical immersion program with local hospitals and emergency medical
services at the junior level, and a team-centered workshop led by local industry experts on the translation and
commercialization of medical devices to augment the senior design experience. Providing students with needs-
based service-learning design projects will prepare them in developing technologies that will not only address
public health concerns but also be welcomed by the community and enhance their understanding of the
importance of engineering in service to society. Building upon this through new partnerships in the proposed
program for clinical immersion, student will gain proficiency in identifying and evaluating unmet clinical needs as
well as gain meaningful perspectives related to human factors and expectations for design of a quality medical
device. Students will also benefit from a design team-centered workshop series that will be led by local industry
experts through activities that will improve their understanding of the industry-relevant practices for development
and how to navigate the regulatory approval process to translate and commercialize their senior design
technologies. Through this three-tiered enhancement to our program that takes students through the complete
process of needs finding to commercialization, students will gain the practical experience early on and repeatedly
throughout their degree. By strengthen their skills spanning engineering, medicine, and business this program
will help meet our graduates meet the needs of the biomedical workforce and serve as the next generation of
entrepreneurs in the biomedical industry. Our supplement will thus support these areas as within the scope of
our parent award.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10606346
- **Project number:** 3R25EB032766-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARLINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL CHO
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $42,048
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-08-13 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10606346

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10606346, Enhancing Undergraduate Bioengineering Education through Engaged Service Learning, Clinical Immersion, and Entrepreneurship (3R25EB032766-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10606346. Licensed CC0.

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