Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Visit to LifeTech

19 Nov


I have never really heard of LifeTech before the visit but I was curious to know more about LifeTech. So we began the day with an introduction to the company and the operations they have in Singapore. After a brief overview on their motto and their operations, we were given opportunities to explore the verification and validation lab where all the cool machines come into place like the core time PCR and the real time PCR.

  Well, all the biology can be applied in here. The DNA can be replicated easily by using a PCR machine. At 95 degrees Celsius, the separation of the DNA is carried out, where the double helix bonds were broken. At 60 degrees Celsius, annealing and amplification is being carried out. As a result, the DNA is being replicated and can be put into good use in forensic labs where they work with DNA related cases. Thus, through the visit to LifeTech, I can see what is useful of the PCR in daily lives as it has a part to play in finding out the criminals. Besides that, I also enjoyed the talk given by the station masters where we had fun with using the multi pipette in designing our wells and plates.

  In another session, we learnt more about product development where we used the ideas that we brainstormed on the workshop by Qioptiq. I learnt from the product development talk that both the component engineers and the system engineers have to work together to come up with a perfect product. Firstly, the customer requirements have to be verified first before the component engineers can piece the component together so that the engineers that are in charge of the systems of the products can ensure that the product is perfect.

  After that, we went through a sharing by the senior engineers and officers where they shared with us their career paths and experiences. I enjoyed this part the most as the engineers are extremely humorous and I also learnt a lot from them such as the different departments they work in. Also, they answered our questions in a very detailed way, and hence I enjoyed this part the most and I learnt a lot of career experiences as an engineer the most during the sharing. Also, I find this very educational and I learnt how to interact with the workers in the industry in the future.

  As a whole, I feel that the time spent in LifeTech was worthwhile. Even though the visit was whole day long, but I did not feel tired at all after the sessions.

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