From Sports to MedIS: "Hardly anyone knows the program exists – or what you can use it for"

Why did you choose to study MedIS (Medicine with Industrial Specialization)?

“It was a bit by chance that I ended up there. I grew up in the US, and when I was in high school, I always thought I was going to be a mechanical engineer, because I was very interested in Formula 1 and race cars. But during my first gap year, I came back to Denmark and attended Idrætshøjskolen Sønderborg. As part of a sports massage course I took there, we learned very basic musculoskeletal anatomy – and that really caught my attention. So, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor.”

“I applied to medicine programs across the country twice but didn’t get in, and since I didn’t want to take more gap years, I started on the sports science program at Aalborg University. I’m very interested in sports, and I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to exercise and training – but I was uncertain whether the career opportunities after the degree really fit me. So, when I started, medicine was still in the back of my mind.”

“While I was studying sports science, I heard about the MedIS program, and I realized it suited me better than medicine. In MedIS, we still get all the anatomy and physiology learning, but we keep some distance from the clinical aspects and the vulnerable encounters with patients, which I had been a bit concerned about if I were to become a doctor. In the end, I applied for MedIS and got in – and today I’m very, very happy about that.”

"When I first started MedIS, it was very, very tough."

What’s the best thing about the program?

“Today, the best part is that I’ve invested myself so much in it. When I first started MedIS, it was very, very tough. It was a big academic shift for me, since it demanded much more of me than the sports science program did. There was a long adjustment process, and in the beginning, I honestly didn’t think it was the right program for me.”

“What changed everything was that I got very involved in the voluntary student work. I’m chair of our party committee, I’m on the board of our Friday bar, I’m tutor coordinator for new students, and I’m on the board of our student political organization, called the MedIS Council.”

“It’s especially the MedIS Council that has given me a new sense of direction in relation to the program. One of the things we work with is how the conditions of the program are, and what you can use it for. As soon as I started caring more about how good my education is, I felt a much stronger connection to being a MedIS student.”

How do you work concretely to create a stronger MedIS identity?

“A big part of it is stepping out of the shadow of the medicine program. We study almost the same bachelor as them, and we share much of the same classes. This means that many feel like they don’t really have their own program but are just in the shadow of those who will later become doctors. Luckily, the university has improved this quite a bit. There have been updates to the curricula to ensure that MedIS students get a good understanding of their professional profile early in the program.”

“In some lectures, teachers might say something like: ‘When you become doctors…’ That doesn’t irritate me too much, but some of my fellow students do get a bit provoked. Because we’ve specifically chosen a different program than medicine, and it can dilute our identity a bit.”

“We work hard to build a strong professional identity in our program and make it clear what place we have, both at the university and on the future job market. We host monthly social events to get to know each other better, but we also have a fixed agenda item called ‘news from the industry.’ That means that someone from our board presents a topic or news item within life science. For example, in May I had the pleasure of presenting on the use of neoantigens in the treatment of advanced melanoma.” 

“In addition, we hold an annual event called MedIS Awareness. Hardly anyone knows the program exists – or what you can use it for. So here we invite alumni to tell us what they have become and how the program has benefitted them in different ways.”

"We work hard to build a strong professional identity in our program”

You’re in your fifth semester today – are you still excited about the classes?

“Absolutely. Right now, for example, we’re doing medical microbiology and advanced immunology, and I just attended a lecture on foodborne diseases. We discussed different epidemiological studies showing how infections spread, what symptoms people experience – and the whole process of collecting data and translating it into guidelines. I find that super interesting, and I’m very fascinated by all the technical and nerdy aspects of it.”

“Soon we must choose which master’s program we want to apply for. We can choose between three – biomedicine, translational medicine, and medical market access. I kind of have the luxury problem that I think all of them are interesting.”

What do you dream of working with in the future?

“It’s the classic question: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And it’s a good question.”

“At the moment, I’m maybe leaning a bit toward a job in the public sector – for example something in the Danish Health Authority, because I think it’s quite interesting to work with clinical guidelines. But I must admit, I’m still pretty green when it comes to what such a position would look like in practice.”

“I could also imagine becoming a researcher – but I have no idea what I would want to research. So yes, right now my answer is still a bit broad and unspecific.”