'Speed-dating' event to unite students and industry

22 November 2016

More than 150 university students from across Victoria have signed up to ‘Medtech & Biotech Mingle Melbourne’, a free industry event to help employers tap into emerging talent.

RMIT will host this session in partnership with CSIRO-Data61’s student job platform, Ribit, and the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre (MTPConnect) on Thursday, 24 November.

Not only will students be in the hot seat to pitch themselves across five minute ‘speed dates’, but also the 30 participating businesses who will each be allocated just 30 seconds to prove why they’re worth meeting.

To ensure both sides are fired up, a pitch doctor will present a ‘pitch on pitching’.

“As up to 80% of work opportunities are found through networking, these sessions help students sharpen their employment skills while building industry contacts. On the flip side, companies often find their perfect hire from interviewing multiple students in under two hours,” Ribit Director Liz Jakubowski said.

“We are lucky to be partnering with such great industry and tertiary institutions and seeing everyone working together to build engagement around new talent recruitment,” she said.

Dr Mel Thomson, General Manager of Education, Skills and Events at MTPConnect, said: “It’s fantastic to see that students with so many different skills are keen to explore career paths within Medtech, Biotech and Pharmacology.

“Within Victoria alone, these sectors contribute more than US$9.5 billion in economic activity. Regardless of a student’s academic background, getting a start in this industry means their career can take many different trajectories,” Dr Thomson said.

Dr Andre Tan, Business Development Manager at Zimcon Group who will be attending the event, said: "I benefited from a number of internships as an undergraduate, and soon after I completed my PhD. Over the course of four summer internships at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, I learned about how research was integrated into improving clinical outcomes for children with chronic conditions. At Brandon Capital Partners, I gained better insight to how early-stage therapies are commercialised. These experiences were pivotal in my career development."

Are you a company looking for new student talent to help grow your business? Sign up now to attend Medtech Mingle.

‘Medtech & Biotech Mingle Melbourne’ is also supported by Australian Information Industry Association, AusBiotech, Medical Technology Association of Australia, Biomedical Research Victoria, Health Hack, BioMelbourne, Startup Healthtech