Girls do STEM Culloden Academy x RESILIENCE
11 & 26 March 2026
The RESILIENCE Hub at Heriot-Watt University partnered with the “Girls do STEM” initiative at Culloden Academy to deliver a unique experience, empowering S3 girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to explore careers in STEM. Through hands-on activities, immersive VR training, and visits to cutting-edge facilities, students gained practical skills and insight into the field of medicines manufacturing and beyond. The programme concluded with a networking session featuring female role models, inspiring the next generation to pursue opportunities in STEM.
The RESILIENCE Hub at Heriot-Watt University collaborated with the DYW coordinator Soraya MacDonald at Culloden Academy in Inverness to support the initiative “Girls do STEM”, which is running for the second year with great success.
The “Girls do STEM” initiative seeks to support female S3 pupils from disadvantaged background that have interest and potential in STEM but might not be able to fulfil it for various reasons. This initiative gives the girls the opportunity to explore different career paths in STEM and meet female role models from all different backgrounds, in all different stages of life and in a vast number of different careers in STEM, showing thus that anything is possible!
Our first session took place at Culloden Academy in Inverness, were we met the girls for the first time and talked about what is medicine, provided insights for the Medicines Manufacturing sector and discussed the countless career possibilities of the sector. Then, the girls had the chance to test their pipetting skills both in VR and in real life with hands-on activities.
Two weeks later, we welcomed the group to the Heriot-Watt Edinburgh campus for a full day of visits, discussions and activities. The day started with a warm welcome and a quick introduction. Then one group visited the National Robotarium while the second group visited the Immersive suite at the Health & Care Technologies GRI. All students had the chance to participate in FourPlus' immersive VR and MR training, where they practiced key laboratory and manufacturing skills in a simulated, safe environment, for example, they learned how to pipette accurately and prepare solutions. Then, the students put their newly acquired skills to the test in hands-on activities with real pipetting equipment.
At the end of the day, we held a networking session with female academics, research associates, PhD students and staff members of the Schools of Engineering and Physical Sciences, where the girls had the chance to hear all the different background stories of the EPS members and ask questions. This last session provided such an insight and an inspiration of how these women, from different backgrounds, in different stages of life, and from different sectors, are paving their path in STEM and playing such an important role in the future of Sciences – brilliant role models for the next generation of female researchers and scientists!
