Sharon Leung: Innovation on the Crux of Healthcare and Engineering with CU Boulder On-line

For Sharon Leung, a devoted healthcare skilled with 15 years of expertise, the pursuit of an engineering diploma might sound a bit off beam. Nevertheless, Sharon’s dedication to lifelong studying and modern problem-solving led her to enroll within the on-line Grasp of Engineering in Engineering Administration program at CU Boulder. With this diploma, Sharon is redefining the intersection of healthcare, expertise, and enterprise. Based mostly in Hong Kong, she works full-time as a Managed Care Officer for an ISO-certified healthcare companies supplier whereas finding out part-time. Her story demonstrates how artistic upskilling and a dedication to private progress can result in distinctive interdisciplinary experience.

 Folding Engineering Practices right into a Profession in Healthcare 

With a background in psychology, Sharon spent 12 years working in a medical setting earlier than transitioning into healthcare administration. A yr and a half in the past, she joined a managed care group, making important selections that impression healthcare supply. This shift sparked her curiosity in expertise and synthetic intelligence (AI) and the way engineering ideas could be built-in into healthcare.

“Folks ask me: How is healthcare associated to engineering? How is psychology associated to engineering? To me, studying a brand new set of expertise is a wonderful method to deal with a posh healthcare downside, in an modern manner.”

The Journey to CU Boulder

Sharon initially explored on-line programs to upskill throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. She has since accomplished over 60 non-credit programs on Coursera outdoors of her diploma necessities, choosing matters that she knew would increase her pondering inside her profession.  When she found CU Boulder’s Engineering Administration program, she was drawn to its flexibility, repute, and distinctive strategy.

“I knew CU Boulder had a robust repute as a public analysis college, however I didn’t know they provided these sorts of packages. It was an ideal alternative for somebody like me, who doesn’t have a standard engineering background.“

In contrast to conventional engineering grasp’s packages that require an undergraduate diploma in engineering, CU Boulder’s program embraces various backgrounds. The flexibility to preview programs earlier than committing to full tuition was a game-changer for Sharon, permitting her to bridge data gaps earlier than taking extra superior courses.

A Distinctive Studying Expertise

Sharon highlights CU Boulder’s supportive on-line surroundings as one other key benefit. In contrast to different on-line packages, the place college students might really feel remoted, this program supplies entry to TA’s and a strong peer community.

“We now have entry to tutors and professors who reply our questions. There are workplace hours, lecture movies, and readings—rigorous sufficient for a grasp’s degree program. Plus, the peer evaluate system is efficacious as a result of it permits us to see how different college students try assignments and we’re in a position to study from one another.”

Networking alternatives additionally set this system aside. By means of CU Boulder’s college Slack channel, Sharon has related with professionals throughout varied industries, together with engineers, programmers, and entrepreneurs. She relishes the varied scholar backgrounds that she will join with and feels strongly that she is changing into a stronger engineer for the expertise.

“I’ve made some nice mates. We share articles, focus on new programs, and assist one another. A lot of my classmates are already in management roles, and I study rather a lot from them.”

The Worth of Efficiency-Based mostly Admissions (PBA)

Sharon acknowledges skepticism surrounding CU Boulder’s Efficiency-Based mostly Admissions (PBA) mannequin, which permits college students to show their capabilities by means of coursework fairly than standardized check scores or prerequisite engineering levels. Nevertheless, she emphasizes this system’s rigorous expectations.

“It’s not that simple to go the primary three courses. The grading scale is excessive, and so they count on high quality work. Everybody I’ve met in this system is a profitable skilled.”

Engineering Administration: Past Technical Expertise

Whereas technical expertise are important, Sharon believes that engineering administration additionally requires robust communication and management talents.

“Managing folks could be extra essential than simply doing the technical work. This program is nice for people who find themselves curious about engineering however could be afraid of the tech facet.”

For Sharon, she was in a position to brush up on her data by means of extra non-credit programs in techniques engineering, statistics, and AI. 

A Future in Engineering-Pushed Healthcare

Publish-graduation, Sharon goals to leverage her engineering administration expertise to enhance healthcare sustainability and effectivity. She appreciates CU Boulder’s profession counseling companies, which have guided her subsequent steps.

“Boulder is actually daring to introduce this program. It’s opening doorways for individuals who might need potential in engineering however don’t have a standard background. Engineers profit from working with professionals from completely different fields, and healthcare can achieve rather a lot from engineering approaches—particularly in areas like error discount and AI-driven options.”

With a deep curiosity and a dedication to deep, lifelong studying, Sharon is redefining the worth of what it means to be an engineer in healthcare. Her journey at CU Boulder isn’t just about incomes a level however about equipping herself with the abilities to form the way forward for the business.