Saturday 29 October 2011

Pre Learning Journey 2: Qioptiq

Introduction to Qioptiq
Qioptiq designs and manufactures photonic products and solutions that service a wide range of industries and sectors from medical to the defense sector. Qioptiq is a global player in the photonics industry with worldwide operations with 2100 employees around the world, generating a revenue of $380 million in the year 2010. Qioptiq being a large and experienced company in the industrial manufacturing sector plays a pivotal role in servicing not just the services sector, but aids too in the Research and Development centre, providing logistical needs for laboratories and companies.

Reflections:
Being passionate about the medical sciences, the company's service to the medical industry is certainly applicable to my interests. The company is at the forefront of technology with new products in optical imaging produced used in complicated medical procedures such as endoscopy and x-ray imaging, which i would be interested to find out more about. Moreover, the physics syllabus in our school does cover a portion of photonics, and students can connect with the company in terms of applying what they have learnt in class to a real life situation. this makes it all the more intriguing and interesting since we are able to see how the theories of photonics learnt in class have practical purposes, and understand how they are applied.

Qioptiq wowed me generally in terms of the variety of products and industries it is able to cater to and provide products and services for. The first thing that wowed me was Qioptiq's recognition of youth talent and nurturing youth to take on the challenges of the future. 

Taken from Qioptiq's Press Release "Qioptiq supports young scientists with the German
national scholarship program":
"Johannes Blümel is the first student to be
supported by optics specialist Qioptiq as part of the Federal government's
"Deutschlandstipendium" national scholarship program. The trained optician
from Landshut is currently in his third semester of a mechatronics course at
the Fachhochschule Deggendorf (Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences).
He will soon receive 300 EUR per month, half of which is financed by the
Federal government and the other half by Qioptiq."
As such, we can see that Qioptiq is committed and concerned about youth and the role they play in the future of the world,, which wowed me  since it is not as common for companies to provide such support for younger researchers for their project. I believe that nurturing talent for the future and giving youth greater opportunities to expand their research and learning is a great decision and one that earns my respect and awe, and i would hope to be considered for a similar scholarship in the future.

Also, what wowed me was how Qioptiq's defence producted were able to effectively answer to the needs of the defence industry and provide solutions for common problems faced by the army and those using the weopons and detection systems that they manufacture. The products looked high-tech and very cool. Also, a quote from the spokesperson that the company "develops products on use feedback" certainly is commendable and speaks of the company's commitment to consumer satisfaction.




Before the research i believed that the company merely produced what i thought most photonics companies would, just some lenses and machinery used in optical industries, and thought there was not much the company could offer in terms of innovation. However, after the research i viewed the company as multi-faceted and very broad and innovative, able to produce so many products to cater to most optical needs in the industry beyond simply lenses and lasers, and i was more intrigued to find out the operations of the company.

I hope to learn much more about Qioptiq's products and probably the manufacturing and innovation processes that go into making their products, and about the applications of their products in our lives. i believe that i can benefit much from getting first hand insight onto the operations of the company as opposed to simply reading about scientific theories and not seeing them practised before my eyes. I hope to make the best of my trip to the company.

Pre Learning Journey 1: 3M

Introduction to 3M
3M(Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) is an MNC specialising in innovation to provide goods and services to benefit industries and the commercial sector. Starting out as an abrasives manufacturer 3M has expanded operations and variety of products innovated to create adhesives, laminates and other useful inventions to aid in everyday life. Many of the products we see and use everyday, especially the post-it which 3M is well-known for, can be traced back to the company.

Reflections:
Being passionate about the medical sciences, the company's service to the medical industry is certainly applicable to my interests. The company is at the forefront of technology with new products in drug delivery and respiratory solutions such as facemasks, which i would be interested to find out more about. Moreover, the company also places emphasis on innovation to provide new solutions to common problems in society, which i am sure is an interest of all teenagers living in our ever-changing and developing world today. As such, i can see myself connected with what the company does in terms of my passion in life and the job scope of the company.

In the course of my research about the company i realised certain aspects which really stimulated my interest and wowed me, namely that of the R&D centre and 3M's vision for the future. What wowed me about the R&D centres was the potential it could bring for many companies in terms of research, and the multi-disciplinary research that it conducts, which piques my interest since it seems highly interesting and exciting to work in an environment with an air of innovation and breakthroughs. Moreover, the allotting of space and resources to provide services for companies in R&D with state of the art laboratories for clinical research was not what i expected from 3M originally.


Passage from 3M website:
3M Singapore R&D Centre
The vision of the 3M Singapore R&D Centre is to be a major growth driver and leader in new products and technology platforms. With growing research and development work in Singapore, 3M has established two innovation centres at our Woodlands and Yishun sites. 

The focus of the R&D Centre @ Woodlands is on multi-disciplinary research in the areas of electronics, optics, circuitry, adhesive and coatings. This enables 3M to leverage our knowledge in electronics as well as our vast analytical and weathering capabilities. This facility is able to provide predictive and material analysis for many different industries, and is home to 90 research engineers and scientists. 

The R&D Centre @ Yishun is currently primarily focused on servicing pharmaceutical firms in the region. Officially opened in Oct 2009, the Drug Delivery Systems Laboratory @ Yishun provides full R&D services to pharmaceutical partners in Asia for 3M Inhalation and Trans-dermal drug delivery technologies. In addition, the site is also the global center of excellence for late stage stability testing for drug product registration. The 1858 m2 laboratory is certified to cGMP, houses two process labs where clinical studies samples can be manufactured. The laboratory is currently staffed by 50 trained chemists and engineers from 8 nationalities. 


The next thing that wowed me was also that of the vision of a flexible touch screen concept. The idea seemed fantastical but showed 3M's foresight and innovation to think in an unconventional manner and predict the future needs and wants of society, and designing products to suit those needs the moment they arise. It really wowed me since the product concept was not only futuristic and well designed, but also the coming up of such a concept was very awe-inspiring since i doubt a layman could come up with such a concept so concretely.



Before research my impression of the company was rather myopic that it specialised in household products and some other industrial applications of the goods provided, but after research it really emphasised the nature of innovation the company had inherently and showed the vast capabilities of the company to satisfy needs of many industries, which i felt was very admirable.

I hope to learn much about the innovation processes the workers in 3M undergo and to find out more about how products end up from being designed and innovated to appearing on store shelves. Moreover, i too wish to find out the inspirations for their products, and what it takes to be an engineer. I believe that the future requires innovation as a driver for sustainable progress and to solve existing problems that plague the planet. I really hope to visit 3M to learn alot from the company which can be applied to later life as we youth become the leaders and problem-solvers of society.