MEMKO was proud to support the RMIT BERSS Med-Tech Hackathon 2025, hosted in collaboration with Dassault Systèmes and the Biomedical Engineering RMIT Student Society (BERSS). Held at their Melbourne city campus, the event brought together students from biomedical and other RMIT engineering disciplines to address real-world challenges in prosthetic design.
Dassault Systèmes provided access to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform along with comprehensive training materials and learning content to support students in utilisation of the tools. Participants used the platform to design and simulate prosthetic devices before 3D printing their components.
MEMKO was actively involved throughout the event, supporting the delivery of the initiative and engaging with students to showcase the role of best-in-class engineering tools in academia. The event also provided a valuable opportunity for MEMKO to network with future engineers and demonstrate the importance of industry collaboration in shaping practical, career-ready learning experiences.
As a leading digital engineering firm, MEMKO advocates for the early exposure of students to industry-leading tools such as 3DEXPERIENCE. Practical experience with these technologies is essential to preparing students to be industry-ready upon graduation.
The hackathon was driven by the leadership of BERSS, with students playing a central role in organising and delivering the event. It culminated in a showcase of student prototypes and presentations, judged on creativity, relevance to brief and demonstration of the engineering process from ideation to prototype and presentation. MEMKO’s Digital Lead – Education and Innovation, Raj Burli, presented awards to the top three teams and certificates to all participants, in recognition of their ingenuity under time pressure
MEMKO is an engineering and technology company based in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2007 with its origins in Aerospace, MEMKO’s services now span across multiple industries with a focus on Aerospace and Defence engineering using smart enterprise digital tools across the product life cycle management covering design, systems engineering, digital mock-up, simulation, digital manufacturing and virtual twin. MEMKO is committed to building the workforce of the future, supporting many research and university clients with a combination of industry and market knowledge. MEMKO also delivers training courses for continued education in aviation and aerospace, micro credentials for upskilling in digital manufacturing and official Dassault Systèmes software certification.
Reflecting on the event, Raj shared his thoughts on the importance of industry-academic collaboration and the value of practical learning:
“At MEMKO, we are deeply invested in building stronger connections between education and industry. Supporting initiatives like the BERSS Med-Tech Hackathon, alongside Dassault Systemes, reflects our collective belief that students should have early, hands-on access to the digital tools they’ll use in their future careers. Through platforms like 3DEXPERIENCE, participants experienced the full engineering journey, from concept to collaboration to prototype, equipping them with the confidence and capability to contribute meaningfully from day one in the workforce.”
Championing Industry-Ready Education
Dr. Toh Yen Pang, Deputy Head (Learning & Teaching) of Biomedical Engineering at RMIT University, plays a key role in preparing students for industry by integrating advanced tools into the curriculum. He teaches the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to biomedical engineering students, equipping them with practical skills in digital design and collaboration. As a member of the judging panel for the BERSS Med-Tech Hackathon, Dr. Pang actively supported the initiative, reflecting his strong commitment to experiential learning and the development of industry-ready graduates:
“Our department is delighted to support the BRESS MedTech hackathon challenge because it gives our students the chance to have fun while using 3D Experience, i.e. an industryleading digital platform, which integrates design, simulation, data management and project collaboration in a single environment. Students can collaborate with peers from biomedical, mechanical, mechatronics and electronics & electrical disciplines, they learn from one another, broaden their perspective and gain practical exposure to the tools they will use in industry.”
Student and Mentor Perspectives
“When I first started discussing the hackathon with my program manager Dr. Pang, we wanted to go through the full engineering process: ideation, design and prototype. They could go into their teams and brainstorm, express their creativity and using 3DEXPERIENCE, then they were able to start designing their parts and use RMIT’s 3D printers to print their physical prototype.”
“3DEXPERIENCE allows an easy way to access data between each person in the team. So you can use CATIA and design your part, and each person in your team can access it. I found that to be a big assistance. It’s quite collaborative, and from an oversight perspective, I can see all the teams and see that everyone is on track.”
“It’s very important for students to be exposed to this kind of software and tools they’ll be using throughout their lives and jobs. As a student myself, my first year was very theoretical – but being able to be exposed to this kind of software right off the bat would help a lot in being able to transition from academia to a job, rather than having very theoretical knowledge but having to wait until getting into the workforce to be able to use those tools.”
“I think the hackathon is a really good experience to see what it’s like transitioning from uni into the industry world. When you’re in uni, especially as an undergrad straight out of high school, you’re very used to studying and getting your work done. It’s a bit hard to know how it’s going to translate into a proper job. By doing something like the hackathon, you get to do a project like something you would do in industry; you have a time limit, you’re working with new people, you’re doing group work, it’s different and new. It’s such good experience and really gets you out of your comfort zone. Doing a hackathon, you get industry exposure, get to network, meet new people from within industry and get your foot in the door.”
“The hackathon is good experience to get an idea about what a real-life project would be. When you’re just doing assignments, you get given everything – a lot of support and guidance – whereas in the hackathon you’re given a problem statement and now you have to do it, and have more freedom to do what you want. The hackathon allows you to take what you’ve learned in class and put it into practice with a real-world problem.”
Looking Ahead
MEMKO remains committed to supporting the next generation of engineers through education initiatives, industry partnerships and access to world-class tools like 3DEXPERIENCE. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with RMIT and Dassault Systèmes to inspire innovation and drive real-world impact.