Sri Lankan student set for success at the University of Sydney
With a love maths and biology, Senal Munasinghe always knew he wanted a career where he could combine both these interests. His parents both raised the bar high as doctors and Senal wanted to follow in the family spirit of helping people too, but from a different angle. Biomedical engineering, he decided, would enable him to pursue this goal. During his school holidays, Senal was lucky to travel the world with his parents receiving invitations to medical conferences in Australia and the United States. The studious 20-year-old familiarised himself with international university offerings, and the culture and vibe of the different locations, during these family trips.
Senal did his homework and knows a thing or two about university world rankings. While the US is home to many top ranking universities, so too is Australia and Senal preferred the Australian people and environment. In 2016, the S. Thomas’ College (Mount Lavinia) graduate followed his heart and chose to study a Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Biomedical Engineering) at the University of Sydney. The University of Sydney is Australia’s first university and is ranked in the top 20 universities in the world for Medicine, Law, Finance, Accounting and Civil Engineering, and 14th best for graduate employability.Now in his second semester, Senal managed to spare some time from his busy schedule (currently 30 contact hours per week!) to share with us his journey.We learnt about his future aspirations, robotics 101, a surprise industry project and how to make friends at uni. able to use it and do experiments with it. We presented our findings to senior management of the organisation. It’s hard to imagine something like that happening right in the first semester of uni.
The organisation is Stryker, a world-leading medical technology company. During the 10-week project we planned the research and worked in teams to do the experiments. Then we did the report and presentation. This semester we are continuing on with the project but doing more in-depth research.
It’s hard to pick one specific highlight... We are going to grow and use real human cells this semester. I’m really excited.
There is a lot of biomedical technology in the world that Sri Lanka doesn’t have. I really want to go back and do something about this situation and help introduce leading technology to Sri Lanka. Then maybe I’ll do a second degree or my masters. Perhaps I’ll study international relations so I can be affiliated with the United Nations – something to take me around the world and help people. It’s convenient as you don’t lose time travelling and you get all your meals. There are 200 residents from a diverse range of countries includingAustralia, China, Italy, India, Mexico, Norway, Netherlands, South Africa, Nigeria, Chile, and of course Sri Lanka. We have formal dinners, balls, events, talent shows, sport teams, international fairs, charity nights etc. In the first few weeks of semester, they bombard you with different activities so there is no proper time to get homesick!International House also hosts a leadership program and cross-cultural communication workshops. It’s been an amazing experience so far and has become a community of best friends. I’m looking forward to the next four and a half years. Discover how you can study at Australia’s most respected university. Meet Mr. Nishant Jadhav from the University of Sydney at the Edlocate offices in Colombo or Kandy on 4th and 5th September 2016. For more information, contact nishant. jadhav@sydney.edu.au or contact Edlocate Colombo 0771770361 or Kandy on 081- 5631583 .