SAMS news room

A robotic seal that can simultaneously collect ocean litter and discover new marine species has been chosen as the winning idea in an entrepreneurial competition for Argyll primary schools.

Robopreneurs encouraged school teams from primaries six and seven to dream up and pitch ideas of how technology could benefit their own communities.

The ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch was the culmination of the project run by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban, a partner of UHI, and supported by the SSE Hydro Community Fund.

Cardross Primary School were the overall winners with their ‘Mama Seal’ idea. The robot would operate around the coastline of Argyll and Bute, collecting litter and monitoring pollution levels, all while mapping the environment.

The runners-up were ‘Friend Finders’ from St Andrew’s Primary School on Bute and a second team from Cardross, ‘Robo-bin’ were in third. Teams from North Bute and Lochdonhead on Mull were placed fourth and fifth respectively.

SAMS outreach officer Mia Leng, who ran the Robopreneurs project, said: “I was so impressed by the innovation and creativity the pupils brought to this project.

“It was inspiring to see how they engaged with environmental and social issues they see in their own communities and looked to technology-based solutions to address these issues.”

As part of Robopreneurs, each participating school was given a small drone and teacher training through the Scientific Robotics Academy at SAMS. To nurture curiosity in technology and the local environment, schools will keep their drones for future use and exploration.

A teacher from each participating school also received four training modules with Skillfluence on Entrepreneurship and how to bring this into their classroom.

The top five-placed schools have also visited SAMS to present their work to the Scientific Robotics Academy, SSE and other local members of Argyll and Bute’s STEM network.

Cassie McGunnigle, SSE Community Investment Manager, said: “SSE was proud to support SAMS’ Robopreneurs project, recognising the value of investing in young people and the skills they will carry into the future.

“By helping to build confidence, creativity and problem solving abilities, the project highlighted the important role of science and technology in understanding and protecting the marine environment. It also created a lasting impact by strengthening links between schools, industry and local organisations.

“Supporting SAMS as the delivery partner was a real strength, with their expertise and approach ensuring the project achieved strong outcomes for young people."