GCU Common Good Champions: Emily Green, STEM School Partnership

As the University of the Common Good, GCU’s mission is to make a positive difference to our local communities.

Our students are encouraged to demonstrate our Common Good attributes (Integrity, Creativity, Responsibility and Confidence) through participating in extra-curricular activities and engaging in work which aligns with the Common Good Mission.

4th year Mechanical Systems Engineering student Emily Green has been working with local primary schools through a GCU STEM partnership. As part of her Honours Project, Emily is designing a foldable chair and is using the creative minds of school pupils to help her develop designs for the project.

Emily has been enjoying her time working with the pupils so far. She said: “I have enjoyed working with children and our last meeting was met with some amazing questions about engineering.

They have provided some amazing feedback on what they would like to see on a chair. They are an amazing group and have the pleasure of working with them in this project.”

Due to current pandemic restrictions, Emily has faced some challenges along the way. She said: “There are a few challenges I have had to deal with personally on the project. One of the main problems is with COVID-19 and not being able to get into the university.

I have also had to go back and change some parts of my research and carry this through the main design part which caused some delays.”

However, the project has proved to be very successful. Emily added: “I think it is really important to engage with people at a younger age.

It has allowed them to decide what they aspire to be when they are older and have these useful experiences. They can talk about in the future and where their passion for engineering came from.”

Find out more about the Common Good Mission on the GCU website.

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media