Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen are the first school in the UK to partner with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston bringing their Global Teaching Lab (GTL) programme to the North-east of Scotland.
Two undergraduate students from MIT are delivering lessons that complement the school’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) curriculum and highlight MIT’s hands-on approach to education. This partnership sees the start of a three year plan where MIT students will spend the month of January teaching at Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen.
Nancy Lu is a senior Chemical Engineering student at MIT and has been working with senior school pupils in the Chemistry department. Nancy said: “I have been amazed by the level of knowledge the young scientists have here. Their facilities and resources available for learning and teaching are fantastic. It has also been really fun getting involved with the Analytical Chemistry club out with the classroom. The programme has inspired me to pursue a career in teaching school children Chemistry once I graduate.”
Pratheek Nagaraj is undertaking a Masters in Computer Science at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and has also spent time in the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. His current research examines digital security and privacy. He has been sharing his experience of internships at leading edge global technology companies that include Amazon, Facebook and Snapchat. Pratheek commented: “I have been providing lectures in the computing science labs for pupils from S1 to S6 and helping them learn new programming languages. I have been impressed by the pupils who are supporting one another to learn and I am finding ways to help inspire them about a future in the field of computer science. After my time in Scotland, I'll be returning to MIT to complete my Masters degree and move in to a start-up tech-finance company. The GTL programme has shown me how companies can engage with scientists from a young age to help prepare them for life beyond school.”
During the programme Nancy and Pratheek hosted a wider school community workshop which included Cults Academy. Sharing their knowledge and experience of how the American University application process works, fifth year school pupils were interested to hear their advice first hand on what universities like to see from applicants and how you can present your passion and interest to have a meaningful impact on the institution.
Dr Jane Kennedy, head of chemistry added: “This is a crucial time for our senior pupils. They are formulating their understanding of chemistry which underpins their project work and discussing this with Nancy has allowed them to build confidence.”
Mr Mark Hay, Head of Computing highlighted: “Pratheek has delivered incredibly interesting and interactive lessons on Higher and Advanced Higher topics such as Cloud computing, Sorting Algorithms and Concurrent Programming. We have also had pupils from Aberdeen Grammar attending the Analytics and Social Networking Lesson. Our pupils have benefitted from his experience in working for organisations such as Facebook which has allowed them to gain further insight into the curriculum content. As a teacher, he has helped create material that will further stretch and prepare our senior pupils for life beyond Robert Gordon’s College. We have hugely enjoyed having him here as have our pupils.”
Mr Simon Mills, head of college summarised: “We are very proud to be partnering with one of the world’s leading institutes at the root of science and technology education. This opportunity has allowed pupils in North-east of Scotland to learn from global leaders in science and technology who expertly embed world class teaching and learning with leadership and entrepreneurship. Bringing international opportunities like this to the local classroom further demonstrates our ambitious plans and commitment as a regional hub for science education.”