Today was an early morning as we officially moved out of our hotel and left Bilbao. The first stop on our journey was to Tekniker, essentially an organization that bridges the gap between University and industry in manufacturing and mechatronics. It was interesting to hear about just how many different types of projects are being worked on in just one organization. While the main focus was on medical devices we learned that this organization works on all different types of mechatronics.

Overall I really enjoyed this visit, especially because I could imagine myself working in this exact organization or one similar to it. Something I also noted was how the goal of this organization is to better society and is much less focused on the monetary gains from the projects they are working on. Honestly I believe this approach is different from many organizations in the US. In my opinion most US companies are so profit-driven that the consumers can sometimes loose out and the goal of the project can get lost. Not to say that the US based companies don’t care about the betterment of society, more of the idea that profit margins are just a bigger priority for US companies compared to Tekniker.

Another aspect of this trip that I appreciated was that we were able to hear from 2 rising senior engineering students from the University of Cincinnati, currently on an international co-op rotation with the University of the Basque Country and Tekniker. We heard about their own personal experience with working in coordination with nurses about issues in hospitals and then design and prototype solutions to problems that the nurses at the Gorliz hospital (previous visit this trip) were experiencing. Another interesting aspect of Tekniker is the group work setting. Today there were at least 50 employees working on different design, schematics or simulations at their desks. Something interesting about this is that there weren’t any cubicles and instead is one giant workspace for all employees to allow of interdisciplinary discussions between colleagues. I think this visit was very enriching because it showed me that there is still a cross section between theory (University) and practice (industry). Enlightening me to another aspect of biomedical engineering that I want to further explore in my undergraduate and professional career.

After Tekiniker we arrived to the new bed and breakfast style hotel in Guernica. Later in the afternoon we visited the Assembly House, essentially where nobles in Spain gained their true power. This Assembly House is one of Europe’s oldest parliamentary assembly halls and has history dating back to the 14th century! There was beautiful stain glass on most windows as well as ceilings but the main event is the Guernica tree. This tree is a symbol of Basque freedom as well as a monumental piece of history for Bizkaia (the part of the Basque country we are visiting). While Guernica is much smaller than the downtown of Bilbao, it still has a rich history. We were also able to pass buy a replica of “Guernica” by Picasso on one of the sides of a building in the city, depicting the horrors that happened in this area. From a tree that has been symbolic since the 18th century to one of Picasso’s most famous paintings this area is rich in history and culture and can’t wait to explore more in the next couple days!