Student blogs

Hello, my fellow bloggers!!!

It’s been a while since my last post, and I want to apologize for that. The new school year is always exhausting—preparing for new courses, applying for thesis opportunities, busy with group projects… But I’m back now!

If you’ve been following my blog, you may remember that I took part in a summer internship in Valencia. In this post, I’d like to reflect on what I’ve learned throughout the internship. The project I collaborated on with UPV was “Leveraging Transformers-Based Models and Linked Data for Deep Phenotyping in Radiology.”

My main job tasks involved:

• Developing a Python-based script to build a NoSQL database
• Developing the query functions of the database
• Conducting validation of the querying functions
• Performing statistical analysis on the performance of the querying functions

If you’re not familiar with any of the terms I’ve mentioned above, don’t worry—I was in the same position on my first day at UPV! But thanks to the guidance of my supervisor, I became familiar with all of it in a short time and managed to deliver fruitful and meaningful results to my team.

Looking back, I’m still surprised by how much I learned and achieved over the summer. This experience has prompted me to address a question I often receive:

“If I don’t know anything about programming or computer science, can I still pursue the joint master’s programme in health informatics?”

The answer is Yes!!!

Health informatics is a rapidly developing field, which means there will always be something you’re not familiar with or don’t know about. That may sound intimidating, but it also means there are many gold mines for health informaticians to explore. KI and SU have fostered an optimal environment for us to sharpen our toolkit and gather knowledge based on our personal interests and backgrounds.

If your interest is more technically oriented, you can sign up for more projects and courses at SU to develop your programming skills and build a technical mindset. On the other hand, if you’re more into the integration of information technology with healthcare, you can take part in projects at KI—for example, standardization. The wheel is in your hands! The fact that we can choose courses and research projects from both SU and KI demonstrates the flexibility of the curriculum.

In closing, my summer internship was an eye-opening experience that not only expanded my technical skills but also reinforced my passion for health informatics. Whether you’re a coding novice or a tech enthusiast, there’s a place for you in this dynamic field. So don’t hesitate to dive in and explore the opportunities that await!