An insight from Ian Munro, Rector at Kelvinside Academy.
There is a problem with Scottish education. The current curricular model is not working to the best advantage of all young people. It is built on an old model which fails to prepare young people for life and work in the 21st century. The result is a failure to inspire Scottish youngsters beyond a narrow vision of academic success, and work in conventional industries. The effect is a significant and growing gap in the readiness of Scottish young people to invent and create; to develop future skills that will empower them to contribute to a society that is evolving as
quickly as they are growing and learning.
To help solve this problem, in 2019, Kelvinside Academy will open Scotland’s School of Innovation. The school will be a unique learning environment built around creativity, innovation and enterprise. Our ambition is to inspire the next generation of Scottish entrepreneurs and innovators by creating a new synergy between school, industry, technology and enterprise. At the new School of Innovation, students will be engaged in hands-on interdisciplinary problem solving. Under the guidance of experts, students will develop creative solutions for real-world problems.
Students will be drawn not just from Kelvinside Academy, but also from the wider learning community of Glasgow and Scotland. We also intend to shape a new national curriculum around digital skills and future learning, as well as forging a renewed national positivity and ambition. To this end, over the last two years, we have built a range of national and international partnerships that will put entrepreneurship and innovation at the heart of the School’s educational experience.
Kelvinside Academy is uniquely placed to provide a home for the School of Innovation. Beyond the ‘Clyde-built’ and Charles Rennie McIntosh, Glasgow has a booming tech sector, is home to world-class universities and some of the world’s top companies specialising in engineering, design, architecture and technology. The Innovation School will be an open space for experts in diverse fields – scientists, academics, designers, entrepreneurs, roboticists – to share their expertise and help co-create a new national curriculum.