The Abbott Experience

Dhinal Thakker (MBP ‘26) used to think of Abbott only as a medical device company. A recent site visit to the company's headquarters helped open her eyes to everything the company is doing.

“What surprised me the most was the scale and diversity of the work happening at Abbott,” she said. “I was impressed by how many different areas of healthcare innovation they are involved in.”

Dhinal made the trip to Abbott with classmates from Northwestern Engineering’s Master of Biotechnology Program (MBP). The goal was to connect with industry professionals while seeing how lessons learned in the classroom are applied within a global healthcare organization.

Students were divided into smaller groups for the visit. After brief introductions from Abbott team members about their work, the groups toured the company’s different departments, including biologics discovery, biologics process design, and analytical chemistry. The tour wound through automation facilities, laboratories, research and development, and manufacturing facilities. 

The visit ended in a conference room, where students had more detailed conversations with Abbott employees about their jobs.

The vastness of the operation was eye opening for the students.

“One of the biggest takeaways for me was understanding how science, engineering, operations, and business functions all work together within a healthcare company,” Dhinal said. “I learned more about how large organizations manage innovation while maintaining quality, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.”

Site visits are an important part of the MBP program. These outings help students go behind the scenes of what biotechnology in the workplace can look like, and they help students envision future job opportunities.

Siyuan (Polly) Ren (MBP ‘27) had previously visited startup biotech companies, but she said seeing Abbott operations was a completely different experience.

“Technology is not enough to run a company of that size, you need to make sure the whole process works, which involves different departments," she said. "That's the fascinating part. You can learn a lot about the culture when you visit a company.” 

The site visit also reinforced the value of networking, as students connected with a number of Abbott employees, including several Northwestern alumni 

“It was inspiring to meet Northwestern alumni and hear about their career journeys and experiences within the company,” Dhinal said. “Experiences like these make the MBP program even more impactful because they help students connect academic learning with real industry exposure and professional development.”

Ruiqi Fan (MBP ‘26) said she appreciated the networking opportunity.

“It is very important for students to step into a company and ask questions, because this could become the kind of environment they work in in the future,” she said. “Students have to know how to connect with people, and this was a good chance for them to practice.”

The students said they are proud to be a part of a program that emphasizes site visits. 

They also were grateful to MBP Industrial Advisory Board member and Abbott director of research and development Felicia Bogdan, who helped coordinate the trip. 

“The visit was an incredibly valuable and insightful experience,” Dhinal said. “I truly appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Abbott’s culture, innovation, and collaborative work environment while interacting directly with professionals across different teams.”