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‘Studio education model’ expands after Scots’ success

AN AMERICAN education company is expanding into the UK and Europe following the success of its projects with Scottish schools.

Dollar Academy and Kelvinside Academy have been working with NuVu, which helps them to swap traditional classrooms for hands-on studios.

Projects undertaken by pupils as part of the studio-based programme, which was developed by three graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, include designing “social” robots, creating interactive murals focused on community issues, and undertaking urban design projects that tackle environmental issues.

Saba Ghole, chief creative officer and co-founder of NuVu, said: “Education has changed very little in a century, while the world and jobs market have transformed radically.

“Our model has been adopted by schools around the world, and now we’re excited to work with schools throughout the UK to provide a different model approach – one that helps pupils unleash their creativity and connects their learning to the challenges they face in the world around them.”

The company has appointed Andrew Wilson as its head of partnerships in the UK to encourage other schools to join the initiative.

Dollar Academy used NuVu to create its “Dollar Discovers” platform, which was unveiled in September.

The platform gives pupils from other Scottish schools free access to Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) courses and shorter “Discovery” courses.

Ian Munro, Dollar Academy’s rector, said: “A central part of my role as an educator is to prepare pupils for a complex and everchanging world.

“NuVu has supported this superbly, and it has been a joy to collaborate with them over a number of years to look at new ways to inject curiosity and creativity into the Scottish curriculum.

“Just like every pupil is different, every school is different.

“The agile and creative team at NuVu has the skills and flexibility to work with any school to fast-track innovation.”

Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow launched a pilot project with NuVu in 2017 and became the first institution in the UK to house an “innovation school”.

NuVu said its project’s “huge success” with Kelvinside Academy has triggered the company’s expansion plans into the UK and Europe.

Read more stories from Scotland’s schools on Scottish Field’s education pages.

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