Page 39 - Future Leaders 2018-2019

ALUMNI 10TH
ANNIVERSARY
SPOTLIGHT

DIDI AKINLUYI Medicine

ENGINEER TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE

Didi Akinluyi appeared in the magazine in 2010/2011 while studying a BSc/MSc in
engineering at Cambridge. “It’s important to keep learning in whatever you’re doing, and in
both healthcare and technology, this is crucial,” he says. The fact he has an undergraduate
degree, a masters and two PhDs is testament to this philosophy.

t was important that I started looking for support to a wide range of staff in one of the
my fi rst job well before I graduated largest NHS Trusts. I deal with medical
I with my MEng degree. It meant device issues, I’ve been involved
that I was able to engage in in development projects, and
conversations about different increasingly I also help to deliver
career paths, make a decision, operational developments.
interview and secure a start At times, my work has taken
date. It’s really important to me further afi eld, as I have
know about your deadlines supported a link between
well in advance! Being my Trust and hospitals
prepared meant that after in Northern Zambia,
spending two months delivering training,
working in hospitals in organising events and
Central America with working on familiar
the charity ‘Engineering technology challenges in
World Health’, I began my a very different setting.
training as an NHS Clinical On top of this, I’ve
Scientist at King’s College done plenty of lecturing
Hospital. at KCL, and I’ve been able
I used my time in this training to give back to the course by
phase to think about the kind creating and running a Medical
of mark I’d like to leave in my Engineering Design Course.
career. Placements in different Combining this with my core
areas showed me the possibilities work, my research and my sporting
of applying my engineering skills commitments was challenging but very
to benefi t others. exciting. It really taught me the worth of
At the end of this training phase, I knew that I supportive employers and mentors.
wanted to keep working with technology. I also With this support, I was able to submit my PhD
wanted to learn more, so I approached Guy’s thesis in good time, and I now run workshops
and St Thomas’ NHS Trust with a proposal: that on how we develop strategies for improving
I could work full-time, while pursuing research technical services and other teams. As value-
that I strongly believed would benefi t services. It’s based healthcare develops, I hope to stay active
I also approached the leader of the ‘Engineering important to in this area. Surprisingly, this strategy work all
Design Centre’ at the University of Cambridge, choose subjects started with my engineering curiosity about
the two organisations came together to create a how to make things work. At school and uni,
collaborative role. The Trust agreed to employ me that are true to it’s important to choose subjects that are true to
full time, with the part-time research written into yourself at the yourself at the time, but which also build up to
my contract. time, but which what you might want to do in the future. It can
During this period, I was involved in Nigeria’s also build up really keep interesting doors open.
national rugby 15s and 7s teams and won I’m proud that I’ve been able to build on and
several caps in both versions of the game. to what you apply what I fi rst learned in my undergraduate
It was amazing to give back to the country of my might want studies. It’s not for everyone, but I really do
birth, and to fi nd a community of likeminded to do in the enjoy revisiting what I’ve learned, and applying
team-mates. We shared some great successes future. It can it in new and interesting situations. Some of the
and disappointments: we qualifi ed for the 2014 maths I learned as a student, paved the way for
Commonwealth Games, only to be controversially really keep my current research into predicting when high-
withdrawn. Then in my last tournament, we interesting value equipment will fail in my hospital. Now I’m
placed third, securing the largest jump in doors open. preparing to speak about this at an NHS England
rankings of any nation that year. Sports are a event.
great testing ground for resilience! It’s exciting to think where things can go if you
In my job, I provide expert advice and scientifi c stick with it!

10 ANNIVERSARY EDITION FUTURE LEADERS 37
TH