Two PhD students from the University of Kent recently visited the Malling School to discuss Engineering with a group of year 10 female students. The aim of the session was to inspire the students to consider pursuing a STEM career and to show that such opportunities were accessible for them.
The students were introduced to robotics, as well as different scenarios in which robots are used at the university and in different countries. A robotics demonstration was given using a NAO robot, named Edison, displaying its abilities and features. Edison performed 3 dance moves, push-ups and facial recognition activities. The NAO robots have been used across the world as information points in theme parks, however, their primary use is currently within the education sector as they are being piloted to help people with disabilities and encouraging pupils to read.
The PhD students also discussed what it was like to study an Engineering degree which allowed students to ask questions and share any concerns they might have had about studying a STEM subject at university. Feedback from the activity was extremely positive as the female students benefitted from having the chance to explore STEM-related options that they may not have previously considered. As a result of this feedback, The Malling School are keen to repeat this session in the future: ‘we will definitely be inviting Edison back’.
For more information about this activity, please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk