Awards:
Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal


Shaping lives through technology and design

Although biomedical engineering was Nabillah’s first pick at Singapore Polytechnic (SP), she was concerned that the merger of the course with mechanical engineering would dilute the biomedical engineering portions. However, after enrolling in the Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (DME), she discovered that the diverse curriculum offered more career pathways and university options. This changed her perspective; it has been a decision that she has not regretted since.

Beyond the classroom, Nabillah was active in her CCA as the Public Relations Vice President of the Community Service and Cultural Club. She learned teaching tips and organised several projects during her stint as a Teaching and Project Coordinator for the SP Robotics Innovation and Technology Enterprise. She also played mentor to her classmates and coached them when they faced challenges in completing their assignments.

Her desire to serve the community extends outside of SP. Nabillah is an active volunteer with elderly organisations, a cause that she holds dear since her days at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may had limited face-to-face interactions, but that did not deter her from being creative. She utilised an app to help the elderly shop for their groceries or clean their houses. Nabillah shares that she enjoys hearty conversations with them as she loves to hear about their life experiences and the precious wisdom that they impart to her.

Intending to pursue a career in research, the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medallist opted to do a final-year project, where she designed an end-of-arm tooling and developed one with the fastest response time to pick up to four objects at once, instead of an internship. The process has taught her the steps necessary for designing solutions with an external client, which has proven to be valuable in providing insights into the working world.

She also attributes her success to her lecturers who have made it a point to make lessons fun and enjoyable. More importantly, they curate it for students to help them correct their mistakes. The technical staff are also ever ready to help them, even though they are no longer taking their modules. “The technical staff are extremely helpful, and we can learn a lot from their wealth of experience and knowledge.”

After graduation, Nabillah plans to further her studies in biomedical engineering as she aspires to be a biomedical engineer and help others through her work. As technology is always evolving, she recognises the potential that it has in improving the level of care for patients after surgery or medical treatments. She also hopes that, through research and development, she will be able to produce more affordable and accessible medical devices for those in need.