Admissions committee
← Interview review

Aisha Rahman

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Bangladesh · A-Levels, A*AA · IELTS 8.0

Interviewed 17 October 2026 at 2:54 · 6 min

Summary

Aisha, who has worked at an aunt's clinic and built a home sensor project, shows a clear personal path into biomedical engineering and gave specific examples of initiative. The applicant communicated clearly in English and explained a concrete leadership effort that secured repair budget for a school lab.

Check before deciding

  • The leadership example reports a budget for repairs but no figures on its size or the equipment restored; the committee may want to verify the outcome.
  • The applicant was not asked about a second leadership example, so this criterion rests on a single account.

Khalifa University interview criteria

  1. Proficiency in English communication

    4/5

    Aisha answered clearly and fluently throughout, with only minor hesitations, and said that English is still improving.

    “Also the classes are in English, which I think will help me when I read research papers.”

    Aisha, in the interview

  2. Familiarity with the relevant profession

    4/5

    The applicant gave a specific pulse oximeter example showing understanding of calibration and fault diagnosis, though they said they were unsure of the details of the role.

    “So an engineer has to check the calibration and figure out if it's the sensor or the software.”

    Aisha, in the interview

  3. Commitment to pursue a professional degree program

    4/5

    The applicant pursued self-driven work outside class, including a completed online course and a home Arduino sensor project they are still working on.

    “I took an online course on medical instrumentation, like, from a university platform, and I finished it in maybe four months.”

    Aisha, in the interview

  4. Reasons for choosing Khalifa University

    4/5

    The applicant gave concrete reasons tied to the university's practical healthcare engineering focus, research labs, and English-language instruction.

    “It's not only theory, there are research labs and you can work on real medical problems.”

    Aisha, in the interview

  5. Evaluation of potential leadership capabilities

    4/5

    The applicant took the first step on a school lab repair effort with a clear personal role and a budget outcome, but gave no measured result beyond that.

    “I wrote a short proposal and I asked my classmates to sign it.”

    Aisha, in the interview

Full transcript

20 turns
  1. Nura

    Hi Aisha, I'm Nura, and I'll be doing your Khalifa University admissions interview today. It takes about six minutes and there are no trick questions. To start, what first got you interested in Biomedical Engineering?

  2. Aisha

    Um, okay. So last summer I was helping my aunt at her clinic in Dhaka, just doing small things, like reception and sometimes taking blood pressure. And there was this ECG machine that was broken for almost three weeks. Nobody could fix it, and patients had to go somewhere else. I kept thinking, like, why doesn't it just work? That's when I started wanting to understand how these machines are actually built.

  3. Nura

    What does someone with a biomedical engineering degree actually do day to day?

  4. Aisha

    I think... they work with hospitals and medical devices. Like they design equipment, or they test it so it's safe, and they fix things when they break. Maybe they also work with doctors to understand what the problem is? I'm not totally sure about all the details, but that's what I understand so far.

  5. Nura

    Can you give me one specific example from that?

  6. Aisha

    Okay, yeah. For example, a pulse oximeter, the thing you put on your finger. If the sensor reads wrong, the doctor might think the patient's oxygen is fine when it's not. So an engineer has to check the calibration and figure out if it's the sensor or the software. That kind of detective work is what I find interesting.

  7. Nura

    Thanks. What have you done outside class toward this field?

  8. Aisha

    So, I took an online course on medical instrumentation, like, from a university platform, and I finished it in maybe four months. And I tried building a simple heart rate sensor with an Arduino at home. It was very messy, honestly, the readings kept jumping around. But I learned a lot from that.

  9. Nura

    What happened with that project in the end?

  10. Aisha

    Hmm, I got it to work a little, but only when I held my finger very still. So I started researching filters, to remove the noise. I'm still not done, but I understand the problem better now, which I think is the important part.

  11. Nura

    Why Khalifa University, and not another university?

  12. Aisha

    I read about the healthcare engineering focus at Khalifa University, and it looked very practical. It's not only theory, there are research labs and you can work on real medical problems. Also the classes are in English, which I think will help me when I read research papers. And I like that it's in Abu Dhabi, a place with a lot of different people and ideas.

  13. Nura

    Tell me about a time you led others or took the first step on something.

  14. Aisha

    In my school, our science lab had old equipment, like microscopes that didn't work. Nobody wanted to ask the principal, so I wrote a short proposal and I asked my classmates to sign it. It took two months, but we got some budget for repairs. I was a bit scared to speak in front of the teachers, but I did it anyway.

  15. Nura

    What was the hardest part of that?

  16. Aisha

    Getting people to take it seriously, I think. Some classmates thought it was not important, because the lab was always like that. So I had to explain again and again, with numbers, how many experiments were not possible. Once they saw that, they started helping me.

  17. Nura

    Is there anything you want the committee to know about you?

  18. Aisha

    Yes, I think... I'm not the best at everything, and my English is still improving. But I'm very patient when I fix things, and I don't give up easily. I want to build equipment that works properly for people like the patients at my aunt's clinic, who don't have many options. That's really why I'm applying.

  19. Nura

    Thank you, Aisha. Best of luck with your application.

  20. Aisha

    Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.