News & Events

Tam Nguyen
PhD candidate

Tam Nguyen is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering supervised by Marcus Pandy and Richard Baker. He has recently returned from a 3 weeks teaching biomechanics in Cambodia. This project is supported by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and The Cambodia Trust.

In late January Tam Nguyen (PhD student in biomechanical engineering, former biomedical engineer at the Royal Children's Hospital) returned to Cambodia to volunteer at a specialist rehabilitation school based in Phnom Penh. The 2006 trip was Tam's third visit to the Cambodian School for Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO), where he is a member of a team of 4 biomedical engineers who visit the School in January each year to provide teaching assistance.

The aim of the project this year was to teach a Biomechanics course to 12 select students who are upgrading their skills and knowledge to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree through La Trobe University in Melbourne, Victoria. The students, who are all graduates of the CSPO program and have been working in the field for a number of years, saw this 'upgrade course' as an opportunity further their skills and obtain an Australian qualification. The 12 students come from countries including Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Laos.

Over a period of 3 weeks, Tam and the team taught a full semester course in Biomechanics to the students, including all tutorial sessions, 5 practicals, 3 tests, and 1 practice exam. "It was an amazing experience - the students were incredibly dedicated to learning and understanding what is normally a 13-week course, compressed into 3 weeks! Their application and commitment was impressive."

The students sat their final exam in Biomechanics on Friday 10th February. The team is confident they will all do well, given the average mark for the practice exam was an impressive 90%.

See Tam's profile here