Last Day

Last day of the program! Sad to see it end, but I have had so much fun on the trip overall. We started our day with a bus ride from Gernika to Bilbao. We got to see the aftermath of the soccer final, which was surprisingly clean. We then were presented the design process for medical devices, where the very emphasized first step was to find a doctor. This step is important because it allows you to hear the user needs without blindly creating a product that is either unuseful or only has a niche audience. He compared his past experience creating the Formula 1 car for the school with his experience helping with the Balance and Eureka project. Because although they are two completely different products, they still have some similar elements in their design process. We then heard a presentation from the founder of VentiJet. The company is a newer startup that is just having their products reach the necessary clinical trials in order for the product to hit the market. We learned more about ventilators and the excessive trauma they cause to the lungs as well as the challenges that come along with creating a startup. I found it interesting how the team of people he was currently working with wasn’t comprised of both people he knew previously as well as outside hires who shared their passion for the startup. After a short Kahoot game and a revision of the program, we headed back out of Bilbao. We had a final couple of hours of free time before the last programmed event, a dinner. We had Argentinian-style pizza, along with a traditional dessert, before saying our goodbyes.  ¡Adiós España!

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