ACES welcomes six new students from Utrecht

Not long after farewelling our previous group of students from the Netherlands, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at the University of Wollongong has welcomed another six students from the University Medical Centre Utrecht and Utrecht University as part of the Global Master’s degree in Biofabrication.

Diego Castaneda Garay, Gilles van Tienderen, Gregor Weisgrab, Laura Blanco Pena, Max Renes and Stefan Zaharievski study together in the Netherlands, however hold a number of different nationalities between them including Mexican, Spanish, Austrian, British-Macedonian and Dutch.

Unlike many who choose to study at ACES, these students originate from biology-based backgrounds and are looking forward to expanding their  interdisciplinary knowledge through working with others with chemistry and engineering backgrounds.

Diego joins us after working as a general surgeon in Mexico for a number of years, hoping to use his knowledge of clinical work to elevate his studies in biofabrication.

The visiting students are looking forward to working with high-tech printers and other cutting-edge equipment here in Wollongong as well as work with new processes, such as creating unique materials.

Quickly introduced to the ACES event calendar, the students have attended a few events in Wollongong including an intense three days at the Biomimetics, Artificial Muscles and Nano-bio (BAMN) conference that was held at the University of Wollongong in late September.

With Utrecht, one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, Max and Gilles were astounded at the absence of bicycle awareness and facilities available here in Australia. We can only hope that Wollongong’s beautiful beaches make up for this!

The students are excited to see more of what Australia has to offer, already spending some of the Labour Day weekend exploring the beaches around Jervis Bay. They are looking forward to experiencing the rising Australian temperatures and travelling more of the East Coast.