5 hours Ago
Emily Jackson was presented with the MacRobert Engineering award at a ceremony in Barony Hall in Glasgow. Emily attends St. James' Primary Academy in and school said it was very excited for her to receive the award.
Emily entered the 'If you were an engineer, what would you do?' annual competition, run by Primary Engineers. She entered with an automated seed-planting drone she had designed herself. Some of the other entries included a solar powered blanket for the homeless, a self-regulation bracelet and a smart tap designed to track and monitor water usage.
The goal of the competition is to encourage children to think outside the box and design an item which could improve the lives of individuals and communities across the world. A spokesperson for St James' Primary Academy said: "Emily's automated seed-planting robot addresses soil degradation and biodiversity loss by regenerating soil quality through effective seed planting, featuring automated soil sensing for optimal seed selection and eco-friendly design for use in low-accessibility areas, aiming to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact." Emily entered the competition last year, alongside the submissions of all the children in the school.
Her genius design was picked up by engineering students at the University of Southampton, which turned it into a prototype. Various university students across the country picked up pupil's designs and turned them into prototypes. Out of the 24 prototypes were built this year, 17 were shortlisted and 10 were awarded medals.
Out of the last ten, only two designs were given a gold award at the ceremony, one of these being Emily's. Alastair Brown, headteacher of St James' and Nichol Martin, science lead, flew up to Glasgow with Emily and her dad. Alastair said: "We are incredibly proud of Emily and her achievement.
"At St. James', we want to encourage everyone to see science and engineering as an opportunity to play our part in changing the world. "We especially know how important it is to encourage girls to be involved in STEM sciences and to see Emily do so well is the icing on the cake.
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