NuVu

Kelvinside Academy pupils got to grips with the combined intelligence of humans and machines, as the world’s leading innovation school came to Scotland.

Leading academics have hailed the exclusive partnership between the Glasgow school and NuVu, which challenges the concept of the traditional education system in this country.

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The pupils attending NuVu’s design and technology camps worked with experts from MIT and Harvard to explore the combined intelligence of humans and machines to solve problems.

Professor Frank Coton, University of Glasgow Vice-Principal,Dr Stephen Breslin, Chief Executive Officer at Glasgow’s Science Centre and Alex Clarke from Skills Development Scotland were among the studio visitors who met the pupils, and their robots.  

Dr Stephen Breslin said: “It’s inspiring to see all this innovation at Kelvinside Academy.  Pupils are being challenged to think outside the box and are coming up with some truly astonishing solutions. They aren’t afraid to fail, and instead, adopt a growth mind-set. Each mistake allows them to evolve the task at hand, bouncing ideas off one another to come to collaborative conclusions.”

Martha Armstrong, S2 pupil at Kelvinside Academy who has been exploring Swarm Robotics this week thinks the NuVu studio is “unlike anything I’ve ever done.”

“You create incredible products and get to use kit you’ve never tried before like laser cutters and 3-D printers as well as using code and different materials and components”, she said.

“You are constantly learning but it doesn’t feel like you’re in school being taught.”

Ian Munro, the school’s Rector, secured the exclusive partnership with NuVu, which aims to stretch the boundaries of what constitutes education. This closely aligns with Mr Munro’s core philosophy to embrace a wide range of ideas to create the best-rounded education possible for his pupils.  

He commented: “We are thrilled with the success of the studios that have been running at Kelvinside Academy this week. The buzz around the school has been electric and our pupils’ enthusiasm is contagious. The skills they are learning are vital for the world beyond the school gate which is constantly evolving.  I’m so pleased our partnership with NuVu has allowed our children to experience a very different, but no less valid, way of learning.

“Inviting world-leading experts into our school can only help our pupils develop their thinking. It’s awe-inspiring to see some of the work they have produced in just one week. ”

Based in Boston, NuVu was established in 2010. Since then, thousands of pupils experience its unique educational model. Rather than classrooms and subjects, pupils work on collaborative projects, immersing themselves in the creative process and all its challenges, under the guidance of designers and experts from Harvard and MIT, solving real life problems through a critical and rigorous innovation process.

Communication skills are honed with pupils presenting their finished project to guest experts, receiving constructive feedback in real time.