INNOVATION led school’s programmes could be the missing link in Scotland’s education system, according to the boss of a global firm.
It’s why Scottish firm Peak Scientific is funding 30 places on a summer school and has set a challenge to school children across Scotland to design a pair of shoes capable of collecting litter to win a free place on a leading education programme.
The competition has been organised by the Inchinnan-based firm which is investing more than £50,000 in the free places, a global specialist in gas generation systems for analytical laboratories, in a bid to level-up Scotland’s workforce of the future. The firm believes funding the places on NuVuX’s summer school in Glasgow from July 16 to 23 is a worthwhile investment for them.
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Jonathan Golby, Peak scientific CEO, said: “One of the things we have always found challenging was the acquisition of talent and getting right talent in the right place. We found that increasingly difficult in Scotland and had to bring talent from overseas or other places in the UK.
“We thought this concept with the programme was a really good way of advancing the education system that’s not to say that the traditional methods of education are wrong."
Students working on the NuVu programme
He said they are also trying to raise awareness in the state school system that there is another way.
Mr Golby added: “Not all students learn in the same way. And while the traditional curriculum-based learning works for many, other students prosper in an environment where it's less about exams and more about using hands-on skills and working together with others to complete a project.”
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Mr Golby says it could now be time for the education system to evolve to keep up with the skills that businesses require from their future workforce. He hopes the idea of innovation programmes is something that could be adopted at Scottish Government level.
Jonathan Golby, Peak scientific CEO
“We think it is something that needs raised at the highest level, getting the concept out there and we think it is something that should be available to all children,” he added.
“As the education system evolves, business evolves, and the need to find new talent to come into the business is constantly changing and I think the education system needs to keep up. The needs of business today are very different to what they were about 20 years ago. This is a good way to advance and amend the current education system. It is potentially a really good opportunity to be ahead of the game in Scotland.
“The changemakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators of the future need a different solution to what’s been offered in the past,” he added.
School children are being urged to enter competition to design litter collecting shoes
He said the NuVuX programme gives pupils the licence to develop their own answers and solutions, using their own initiative and intelligence to drive the process and solve open-ended problems.
Entrants who come up with the most innovative concepts for litter-picking shoes – decided by a panel of experts – will be invited to join the summer school. Any pupil at a state school in Scotland over the age of 13 can apply.
The intensive summer school will be hosted at the UK’s first innovation school – a purpose built £2.5m building which is part of Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow’s West End.
Saba Ghole, co-founder of NuVuX
The theme of the summer school will be green wearable tech, and pupils will be guided by NuVuX’s team of innovators – made up of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard grads – as they design products that will make the world a better place.
Using innovative approaches, materials, and technologies, students will learn how to make wearable technology that measures and improves the environment's health.
Boston-based NuVu was founded by a trio of MIT graduates in 2010 with a mission to transform education around the world.
In 2015, NuVu launched NuVuX to bring its innovative model to schools around the world, swapping traditional classrooms and passive learning for open-ended, hands-on studios.
NuVu co-founder and chief creative officer, Saba Ghole, said: “At NuVu, pupils discover a new way of learning. We combine design technology and social issues to give students the opportunity to explore their creative side. We are excited that Peak Scientific has opened the door to what could be a life changing experience for 30 talented young people.
“The real motivation for NuVuX is to infuse education with creative learning and problem solving and thinking critically about the world around us. Our mission is to empower the next generation of young designers, entrepreneurs, makers and inventors who will impact their communities and world through their work and ideas.”
School children over the age of 13 can register here nuvux.nuvustudio.com/nuvux-scotland-summer-camp-2022
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