Every primary and secondary school across Scotland will receive support to refresh computing science for pupils.
Backed by up to £1.3 million from the Scottish Government, secondary schools can bid for grants of up to £3,000 to purchase additional computing science equipment, devices, software or teaching resources.
Every school will also receive two class sets pocket-sized computers that introduce pupils to how software and hardware work together.
In August 2020, Mark Logan’s independent Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review recommended increased investment to improve computing science provision in schools.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “It is essential that we have as many talented young people leaving schools with the skills Scotland’s technology sector and wider economy fundamentally depends upon.
“This investment aims to refresh computing science lessons for learners – equipping them with the skills they need for careers in tech.”
Toni Scullion and Brendan McCart part of the Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS), an organisation based at the University of Glasgow to spread best practice in computing science in schools, which has received a Scottish Government grant of £67,500 to set up and run the STACS programme, said: “We are delighted to be appointed as co-leads of STACS.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Computing Science and we are looking forward to working with the dedicated teachers across Scotland who are delivering Computing Science in schools.
“This initiative recognises the importance of Computing Science as a subject in schools and the integral part it plays in Scotland’s ambition for a Digital Nation. Computing Science in education has a key role in helping to engage, nurture and inspire the next generation of talent and that journey starts in the classroom.”
The Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review of the Scottish tech ecosystem by Mark Logan, commissioned by the Scottish Government, with recommendations on how to develop a world-class tech sector.
Mark Logan, chair of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, said: “It’s vital to the future supply of talent into Scotland’s tech sector that Computing Science at school level is elevated to the same level of importance as other STEM subjects.
“The additional funding for Computing Science announced by the Scottish Government and the formation of STACS, which makes teachers major participants in advancing the subject in Scotland, are key building blocks on the way to that goal.”
Edinburgh College is delighted to be hosting #FIRSTLEGOLEAGUE at Sighthill Campus in December.
This is a wonderful occasion for teams of young people to represent their schools and take part in a highly interactive challenge, designed to develop their coding and programming skills.
Engage your team about designing creative solutions to tackle real-world problems by programming a robot in this year’s #FIRSTLEGOLEAGUE #CARGOCONNECT season.
Secondary school pupils will compete against thousands from across Scotland to build the best green-hydrogen powered Lego vehicle to highlight the role the fuel could play in tackling climate change.
More than 700 pupils from across the city will have just two hours to design, build and race a green hydrogen-fuelled vehicle of their own design as part of the nationwide Scottish Schools Hydrogen Challenge.
And over the next two weeks, competitors will be challenged to design vehicles that can travel the furthest on the zero-emission fuel, for a spot in the regional final at the Assembly Rooms on October 8th.
The three best teams from the regionals will then take part in a grand final in Glasgow during the COP26 climate conference in November where they will be pitted against pupils from Fort William, Wick, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth and Stirling and Glasgow.
Councillor Ian Perry, Education, Children and Families convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Engaging and empowering young people on climate change is vital as Edinburgh transitions towards net zero by 2030.
“Green hydrogen has the potential to prevent millions of tonnes from being released into the atmosphere. This competition is an excellent opportunity to engage young people ion innovating for a net zero future whilst also creating a learning environment which will drive higher levels of creativity and improve peer collaboration.”
Councillor Adam McVey, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council, added: “We know that climate change is a subject which is really important to young people across our city.
“This national challenge not only provides young people with opportunities to apply learning from STEM subjects to this competition but will help to highlight the role that new technologies such as green-hydrogen play in helping to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.
“It will also provide the finalists with a unique and memorable experience of competing at COP26 during the global conference and show we can be inspired by the solutions to climate change.”
Pupils from James Gillespie’s High School, Broughton High School, The Royal High School, Leith Academy, Liberton High School, St Augustine’s High School, Portobello High School and Drummond High School will all take part in the national challenge which is run in partnership with Arcola Energy,ITM Power and ScottishPower.
Starting this week, world’s first and still Europe’s biggest Edinburgh Science Festival celebrates women in STEM with a large-scale street art trail around the Scottish capital featuring 9 locations, each devoted to a different STEM professional whose passion and knowledge contributed to the world of science, technology, engineering and maths.
The Trail is a visual representation of Edinburgh Science’s commitment to championing women in science and science communication and the fight against the under-representation of women in STEM and the stereotypes that persist, despite many long-standing initiatives to boost young women’s interest. Edinburgh Science is proud to present a Festival where 60% of guest speakers are women.
Women in STEM Street Art Trail, supported by Edina Trust, showcases the inspiring achievements of:
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE (Lothian Street), the youngest girl to complete A-levels in computing at the age of 11, Oxford graduate at 20 and founder of Stemettes, an organisation dedicated to inspiring and supporting young women and non-binary people into STEM careers.
Helen Sherman OBE (Citadel Youth Centre), first British Astronaut who in 1991 flew on a Soyuz rocket up to the Soviet, Mir Space Station. During her eight days in space, she conducted medical, agricultural and materials and Earth observation work.
Talat Yaqoob (WHALE Arts), award-winning Scottish campaigner, writer and activist passionate about improving women’s access to STEM subjects and politics.
Natalie Duffield (North Edinburgh Arts), a digital innovator who, following a personal tragedy, decided to not go to university but work and earn – she is now the CEO of InTechnology SmartCitie who provides free WiFi in central Edinburgh, which is a paid for by the company meaning the Council doesn’t have to spend a penny.
Lorna Prendergast (The Space / Broomhouse Hub), a 90-years-old Melbourne University graduate with master’s in ageing who now continues her investigation into the correlation between music and dementia symptom relief via a music therapy trial which started in July 2020.
Dr Aline Finger (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), a conservation geneticist and molecular ecologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, focusing on the conservation of rare, threatened or important plant species in Scotland.
Dr Helen Senn (Edinburgh Zoo), Head of Conservation and Science at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Overseeing all 23 wild conversation projects and working as a conservation genetics specialist, Helen supports reintroduction projects for critically endangered species, such as the dama gazelle and the addax.
Dr Kathy Sullivan (Dynamic Earth), first American woman to complete a spacewalk (1984, Space Shuttle Challenger), the first woman to travel to the bottom of the ocean (2020, Challenger Deep in the Marian Trench, seven miles below the surface). After the dive, Kathy made a phone call to the International Space Station, marking the two extremes of human exploration.
Zarina Ahmad (Summerhall), climate justice and race equality advocate who has been dedicated to increasing participation and improving funding access for under-represented groups.
These inspiring, large-scale portraits have been produced by artists Shona Hardie – known for her portraits of the late DJ Andy Weatherall and the legendary Leith figure Arthur Williams – and Kerry Wilson.
Festival Director Amanda Tyndall said: “Promoting opportunities for women in STEM is a topic very close to my heart and this year not only is our programme packed with amazing women talking about fascinating science but the street art trail takes this message to the streets of Edinburgh and, we hope, will play a small part in inspiring the next generation.”
Artist Shona Hardie puts the finish touches to the portrait of Natalie Duffield at North Edinburgh Arts Centre
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE said: “Two of my favourite things about being a woman in STEM: I can dream something up and create it and I can genuinely solve problems for others using my STEM knowhow.”
Dr Helen Senn, RZSS Head of Conservation and Science Programmes said:“It is always exciting to showcase our charity’s worldwide wildlife conservation work as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival and a real honour to be featured in the Women in STEM Street Art Trail this year.
“Recovering species on the edge of extinction is only possible through collaboration and, with our planet facing an extinction crisis, it is more important than ever before to find ways to break down barriers and empower more people from a wide range of backgrounds to gain the skills needed to protect animals across the globe.”
Festival Director Amanda Tyndall with the portrait of Natalie Duffield at the North Edinburgh Arts centre
Geraldine Marais, Trust Secretary at Edina Trust said: “Edina Trust is proud to have sponsored the Edinburgh Science Festival since 2005. Edina’s main aim is to enhance primary science teaching and learning across the UK by supporting schools, science providers, and science festivals.
“Edina views science as a key part of children’s learning from the start, to make sense of the world we live in, and to provide opportunities to pursue a career in the world of STEM in our ever-changing world. Part of this includes encouraging girls to consider a future in STEM by supporting their learning through hands-on science activities at an early age.”
The Festival’s 2021 line-up features an inspiring line-up of female STEM professionals, authors and explorers from around the world, including, among many others, such names as:
Prof. Linda Bauld who is an adviser to the Covid-19 Committee of the Scottish Parliament;
astronautical engineer Cassandra Mercury;
Mya-Rose Craig, an 19 year old prominent British Bangladeshi birder, conservationist and environmentalist whose blog clocked 5 million views;
quantum gravity, theoretical physics expert Dr Sonali Mohapatra who is part of the technical team of the upcoming ROKS mission which will be launched in 2022;
and Prof. Heidi Larson, founder of the Vaccine Confidence Project and the recipient of this year’s prestigious Edinburgh Medal.
All these events, alongside the Trail, constitute the Festival’s ambitious Women in STEM programme which is dedicated to the memory of Joan Davidson who led Edinburgh Science’s Learning programme for 12 years and stood out for her dedication to inspiring young people to explore, study and develop a lifelong love of science and technology.
Matthew Thornton, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews, is presenting his research to politicians, Parliamentarians and a panel of expert judges as part of STEM for BRITAIN today (Thursday 4th March).
STEM for BRITAIN is an annual poster competition, usually held in the House of Commons, involving some 200 or so early career researchers. The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society of Biology, Physiological Society, Council for the Mathematical Sciences, and the Nutrition Society.
The aim of the competition is to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research work being undertaken in UK universities by early-career researchers.
Dr Thornton’s poster will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research, in the only national competition of its kind.
His presentation will explain how he and his colleagues are expanding our knowledge of quantum systems, which will enable the design of new and remarkable sources of quantum light.
The most important inventions of the 20th century, including the transistor, the laser and the atomic clock, were built on a deep understanding of the quantum nature of materials and atoms. For example, quantum physics is required to explain how electrons move within semiconductors, and so helped to predict the underlying behaviour of transistors.
Matthew’s work will improve the stability of atomic clocks such as those used in GPS satellites, enable development of microscopes which can take higher resolution pictures of small objects with less intense light than normal, and help enable a secure, unhackable quantum internet.
He said: “This prestigious event is a great opportunity to display some key outcomes from my time in St Andrews, and to practice communicating the underlying principles.
“The foundational idea of my recent research is that effects which ordinarily destroy a quantum state can, in some contexts, actually create quantum light from a classical input. I find this both counterintuitive and beautiful.
“In the future I plan to move further into the quantum technologies arena in order to create devices which help people.”
Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to see the work of a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them, virtually on this occasion, and understand their work.”
Matthew’s research has been entered into the physics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.
Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £1000, while silver and bronze receive £750 and £500 respectively.
Due to COVID-19 the 2021 event is being held online, but will nevertheless still be supported by Parliamentarians, including those Members of Parliament whose constituents have been shortlisted to present their posters.
The winners will be announced virtually on Monday 8th March.
With home schooling on the agenda for at least the next few weeks, a new digital tool from Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) Health & Education team, Farming Foodsteps, is offering a different way to engage in the sciences, home economics, maths and geography.
The free interactive resource is aimed at secondary school children and supports teachers and pupils in subjects across the curriculum through the story of red meat production, from field to plate.
As well as introducing the red meat journey and livestock farming, Farming Foodsteps also covers important messages around sustainability, the environment, food safety, careers and the role of red meat in a healthy diet. The preparation and cooking of red meat is also included.
Jennifer Robertson, Health & Education Manager at Quality Meat Scotland, who has school-age children herself, said: “Educators as well as the agricultural industry are keen to ensure that food and farming retains a significant place in the curriculum.
“Not only is it a key player in Scotland’s culture, but it can be easily integrated into subjects across the curriculum from literacy and geography to science, cooking and maths.
“It is also demonstrating to young people the many skills needed in modern agriculture, including technology, statistical analysis and environmental management in addition to the more traditional practices young people often associate with farming.”
Farming Foodsteps has been developed in line with the national curriculum and focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), a key priority of the Scottish Government and Education Scotland.
It sits on an easy-to-use interactive platform online, with five main lessons full of colourful presentations, interactive games and tools, editable worksheets, and quizzes ideal for the home learning environment.
The nature of Farming Foodsteps is that it can be taught digitally, and it can be intuitively worked through by a pupil who has access to a laptop, tablet or phone, without support from an adult.
The “Glorious Grass” activity found in Lesson 2 – To Field, is a real maths challenge bringing to life the science of grass and its importance to Scottish farming. The unique Scottish difference is also peppered throughout the resource.
Another science-based activity found in Lesson 5 – To Fork, focuses on the Maillard reaction that occurs when cooking red meat, often called the browning reaction, but could be called the flavour reaction too.
The resource has been devised by working parents who appreciate the struggle to balance work with schooling, and has been sense checked by children who have tested the resource and its accessibility at home.
Ms Robertson concluded: “Learning has definitely changed over the last few months, and we would love to see Farming Foodsteps bolster home learning for families across Scotland. We are asking families to share their experiences on our social pages, and we are here to support anyone who needs help getting to grips with it.
“Farming Foodsteps is all about interactive fun while delivering some important messages, and it is another step towards equipping a new generation with the STEM skills, knowledge and capability needed to thrive in the changing world around us.”
QMS’ Scotch Kitchen in Schools will be featuring a suite of recipe videos on Twitter (@scotchkitchensc) that can easily be created at home, whilst supporting learning in the Home Economics and Hospitality set curriculum.
Amazon’s development centre in Edinburgh is encouraging children in Edinburgh to get involved in free STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) resources the company has launched to help students improve their maths skills, learn how to code, and develop their career aspirations over the winter school holidays.
In many circumstances, children’s education has been impacted by COVID-19, with schools and families trying to catch up following lockdown and related closures and absences. One report from Ofsted highlighted the worst-case scenarios, reporting that some school children had lost basic skills and learning as a result of school closures caused by the pandemic.
Speaking on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “At Amazon, we are passionate about education and learning, so we have brought charities and educational institutions together with our Maths4All and Amazon Future Engineer programmes to provide a fun way for children to learn and get a head start with maths, computer science and coding.
“On behalf of the team at Edinburgh, we want to encourage the young learners and families in Edinburgh to make the most of these free and easily-accessible resources to keep learning while having fun over the school holidays”
What is Amazon offering?
· Amazon has expanded Amazon Maths4Allbeyond the free resources for primary school children and now also offers secondary school students free educational materials. Amazon Maths4All offers hundreds of worksheets on Kindle and Fire Tablets, new maths challenges on Alexa, apps and games for school pupils, and given the restrictions in place and uncertainty around the holidays, these resources aim to supplement student’s learning and development. The initiative is run in partnership with several organisations including Open University, Conquer Maths, White Rose Maths, Dr Frost and Cazoom Maths.
· Amazon has also launched the Cyber Robotics Challenge to provide students with a free, three-hour virtual challenge to learn the basics of programming as part of Amazon Future Engineer. Recommended for anyone aged eight and above, young learners are asked to code an Amazon Hercules robot to deliver a friend’s birthday present on time. This challenge is the first of its kind and teaches students coding and computer science in a real-world setting.
· With Alexa, you can also open the skill ‘Maths Coach’, which helps your mathematical brain stay active with five levels of difficulty. To get started, use a phrase like “Alexa, ask the Maths Coach to start a test” or “Alexa, ask the Maths Coach for a hard addition test”. For some light-hearted learning you can also ask “Alexa, tell me a fact about maths?”, “Alexa, tell me a joke about maths” or “Alexa, rap about pi”.
· Amazon has also just launched The Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize, delivered by Nesta Challenges, which calls on young bright minds to put their passion for STEM subjects to the test by creating and developing technological innovations to help solve some of the world’s biggest issues from climate change to aging populations.
The programme aims to reach students aged 11-16 across the UK and hopes to provide young people from all backgrounds with an introduction to the possibilities of entrepreneurship in STEM and children can form team and enter the virtual competition until 12 February.
A team of Trinity Academy S3 pupils are the Scottish winners of Shell’s Bright Ideas competition, doubling up on last year’s success. The students’ Design and Technology Teacher, Trinity’s STEM Co-ordinator FLORENCE DONALDSON (pictured below (right) with the girls), explains all:
Wow! We have done it again, Shell Bright Ideas Scottish Winners for the second year in a row! What a phenomenal achievement!
In what has been an undoubtedly challenging time for all our students, five S3 girls worked tirelessly with their teacher Florence Donaldson throughout Lockdown to put together their outstanding proposal for Café Earth.
A huge congratulations to our fantastic S3 Design Team:
Ada Hayden-Joiner
Ava McKie
Cara Burnet
Iris Hughes
Rachel Baxendale
The Bright Ideas Challenge, which is organised by Shell, invited students to imagine what the world will be like in 30 years’ time, and to put their science, technology, engineering and maths skills to work to put together a proposal that would make the world a better place to live.
By 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people on Earth creating a need for 50% more energy than today. The competition asks pupils from across the UK to imagine innovative solutions to the energy challenges facing cities of the future.
The team researched the problem of sourcing food in a sustainable manner within cities. By using their science, technology, engineering knowledge, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills, they developed an innovative idea to solve the problem.
Their solution was create an eco-friendly café to help make our cities be cleaner and more energy efficient by utilising grants from the government and environmental charities to get started and with help from renewable energy professionals to ensure the energy produced is effective and safe.
Professional farmers, gardeners, chefs and waiting staff will make Café Earth run smoothly.
Most importantly, we will need the community: the community will keep our café running by coming to have a coffee, volunteer on our farm or visit Café Earth on a school trip.
Café Earth will serve the community. It will benefit everyone in the community, including families, teens, students and the elderly. The café will sell healthy affordable options.
The greenery around our café from our farms will provide short-term clean air. The plants will change the carbon dioxide we exhale into fresh oxygen. Our café will not contribute to harmful greenhouse gases. Not using fossil fuels will reduce carbon and make long term clean air.
Café Earth will also help businesses in the area. Products and from local businesses will be sold in the shop and produce we cannot grow ourselves will be bought from nearby farms. Finally, a part of our profits will feed back to community charities.
If you are interested, the full proposal for Café Earth can be found in the News section on Trinity Academy’s website.
The entry was Scotland’s winner, which means we will received £4,000 for our school to really bring our technology lessons to life, along with the pupil’s very own STEM themed prize packs to learn more about science, technology and engineering.
We are all incredibly proud of the girls achievements and we can only hope it inspires other young people to get excited about how designers, scientists, engineers and everyone in the technologies industries can make a difference.
A science education programme is turning social distancing into an opportunity for school pupils and teachers to spend their summer learning online.
The Summer STEM Academy www.stemacademyscotland.org is making workshops on a wide variety of science and engineering topics available online for free from Monday 15 June.
Led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier, it features 26 workshops containing videos and activities for teachers, pupils and wider school communities.
All but one involve a video introduction from an expert to a unique project which can be done at home and an explanation of the science behind it. Each of the workshops offer a worksheet to guide learners through activities and experiments such as designing racing cars and measuring the speed of sound.
Volunteers from Edinburgh Napier and the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and Strathclyde have crafted workshop activities on topics including robotics, biodiversity and space colonisation.
Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Mark Huxham (above) has organised activities based on biodiversity, and there is also the use of coding to design and control robots with the computer engineering team, and the use of CAD/CAM software to design F1 cars with industry leading experts and Edinburgh Napier engineers in a schools challenge.
Representatives from organisations including the SS Explorer, BioCity UK, Heart of Midlothian FC, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Academy of Engineering have also contributed their expertise on aeronautical engineering, life sciences, sports science, climate change and the science of sound.
Teachers and students will also have the opportunity to brush up on new science teaching skills with a workshop provided by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Connecting STEM Teachers initiative. They’ll also have the chance to design their own science teaching resources during a workshop provided by Timstar UK and the WF Education group.
Andrew Gallacher, Head of Teacher Education at Edinburgh Napier, said: “Even three months ago the idea of organising a major Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths event and placing it online would have seemed ambitious.
“However, this is exactly what we have done with the Summer STEM Academy. It represents a fantastic opportunity for pupils, teachers, academics and business innovators to explore stimulating workshops that are structured to offer blended learning and enthuse participants of all ages.
“Such is the global appetite for such an event that the organisers have now received countless information requests from many countries that include Japan, South Korea and the USA.”
The Summer STEM Academy was launched in 2018 and brought high school pupils from 13 local authorities to locations in and around Glasgow, along with registered and probationer primary and secondary teachers.
Follow-up interviews with participants found that both pupils and teachers were significantly more engaged with science, and a reduction in anxiety about both learning and teaching STEM subjects.
Dr Margaret Ritchie, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Chemistry, has organised each of the Summer STEM Academy events and led the effort to put this year’s projects online.
Dr Ritchie said: “The Summer STEM Academy programme was built from the ground up to create quality partnerships between universities, schools and businesses and find new ways for them to benefit from working together.
“It gives students the chance to see academia and industry up close, student teachers the chance to learn new methods of teaching, and academics and industry professionals the chance to reach out to younger people and shape their understanding of how science and business intersect.
“The coronavirus turned our plans for the third year of the Summer STEM Academy upside-down, but it’s also given us the opportunity to open up our workshops and reach a much bigger audience by putting them online. We also hope that it will keep participants engaged and interested in science while schools remain closed, and ensure they’re motivated to learn when schools reopen.
“Our content comes from volunteers across a broad spectrum of backgrounds, from an undergraduate student through academics to industry veterans. They’ve given us a lot of great content for school pupils and student teachers alike, and we’re really excited to make it available for them to explore over the summer.”
Class Of Your Own (‘COYO’) is a social business dedicated to inspiring young people and their teachers to discover built environment careers through bespoke STEM education.
Our flagship ‘Design Engineer Construct’ learning programme has enabled hundreds of students to enter university and the world of work with excellent knowledge and skills and a genuine appetite for the sector.
Every year, Class Of Your Own launches an inter-school challenge to inspire young architecture, engineering and construction professionals to create an exciting design project.
This year, to celebrate our long established relationship with Heriot Watt University and the amazing achievement of Team Esteem in the Solar Decathlon Middle East, we decided to create a challenge that focused on the education of the people who might live in a solar house in Dubai.
Could young people design a learning centre to teach a whole community how to think and live green …? And how would the climate and location impact the design?
The challenge was launched at the beginning of March, but when national procurement framework Scape Group put out a call for ideas to help the hundreds of 14/15 year olds who would miss out on work experience due to Covid-19, they were pointed in COYO’s direction.
Work on our pilot virtual work experience programme had just concluded, so it was great to say: “we can help!” I immediately contacted my good friends, Associate Professor in Architecture Alex MacLaren and HWU Team Esteem members, to ask for their help.
Within a few weeks, academics and undergraduates had put together a series of videos to support an extraordinary virtual work experience programme hosted on the pioneering ‘Learn Live’ platform from 18th – 22nd May.
This ‘safe space’ enabled 2000 young people across the UK to experience an extraordinary week by accessing these fantastic, informative broadcasts and ‘chatting’ with university and industry ambassadors in an entirely safe environment.
I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve all achieved together – the feedback from students, teachers and parents has been fantastic. It’s been an amazing collaboration and Heriot Watt University’s input, and impact, has been unbelievable. I’m honoured to be part of such a great institution.
Jairis Alvarez Trujillo
Project Leader Alison (follow website for more information):
My COYO experience was extremely rewarding, the students brought up some very interesting points and often made me think hard to answer their questions. Seeing the student’s creativity in using 3D modelling outside of software Team Esteem would typically uselike Sims and Minecraft impressed me a lotand showed their commitment to the project.
I was also impressed by the standard of a lot of the questions we were asked, which showed their enthusiasm and willingness to learn about the sustainable methods which Team Esteem are looking to employ in our project.
Sonia Piorek:
Working remotely is a challenge in a way. I moved back to my parents for the epidemics so to the place where I spent time when I am free. Thus, it is difficult to motivate myself to wake up early everyday and focus on tasks. Nevertheless, it saves me a lot of time which I usually spend on commuting.
There are also pros and cons of being far from the University – many software and programs are accessible only on University’s PCs. However, due to the special conditions nowadays many companies allow us to install their products for free for some period, especially due to our partnerships between companies and Team ESTEEM.
Pietro Donatelli:
Shifting quickly to the virtual experience of working remotely was a challenge for ESTEEM Members. As a team, one of our greatest commitments were surely our recurrent meetings held on campus where we had the chance to discuss, engage and solve problems collectively.
Luckily, we tried to keep our weekly schedule as intact as possible and our sponsors flexibly moved to virtual meetings as well, making the whole process easier. To me, working remotely has become the new normal, but I’m not going to lie, it’s easier to forget your ‘virtual’ schedule than a live meeting.
For this reason, I will always be grateful to Outlook Calendar for its 15 minutes reminder.
