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We are delighted to share that Jun, a Year 11 student at our school, has been selected to attend the MIT Student Trip this November as part of the prestigious MIT–Nord Anglia STEAM Collaboration.
After completing an impressive entry project, Jun secured a place on this highly competitive programme and will join 68 students from more than 50 Nord Anglia schools worldwide. The experience will include workshops, lectures, campus tours, and collaborative projects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world’s leading universities for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
Jun’s selection was based on a creative and ambitious STEAM project inspired by biomimicry: using ideas from nature to solve environmental challenges. His concept focused on designing a robot that mimics an earthworm's movements to restore soil in extreme environments.
The robot worm features inflatable rings along its body, allowing it to inflate and deflate to recreate the wave‑like squeezing motion earthworms use to move through soil, known as peristalsis. Jun designed the robot to operate in conditions where real worms cannot survive, such as areas affected by high pollution, extreme salt or pH levels, or arid environments.
In his concept, an engineer or user would first assess the soil’s nutrient requirements. The robot would then secrete specific substances that replicate earthworm waste, which naturally contains essential nutrients needed to nourish and restore the soil. To support movement underground, the robot would also secrete artificial mucus, allowing it to move through compacted soil, aerate it, and help restore its structure.
Watch Jun's submission video:
Jun spoke warmly about the support he received throughout the project, explaining:
“Since Year 9, I have enjoyed DT, specifically passion projects and felt supported to complete a range of projects. During the GCSE, Ms Holly helped with CAD, design idea creation and problem-solving. Also, discussing the MIT trip with students who have previously visited gave me support with my entry.”
This combination of subject‑specific guidance and shared student experience helped Jun improve the technical quality of his project and build the confidence to apply for the programme.
Jun is eager for the opportunity to learn alongside students from around the world and to experience life at MIT firsthand. When asked what excites him most about the trip, he shared that he is looking forward to “meeting new people, making friends, experiencing new cultures and food, and exploring the university—seeing the technology they use and meeting students and professors to better understand the culture of MIT.”
He also reflected on MIT’s global reputation, describing it as “the centre of the STEAM world… where life-changing innovations are created.”
Jun hopes the visit will allow him to take his project further and address some of the unanswered questions in his design. In particular, he believes that “with the help of MIT’s technologies, facilities, and professors, [he] would be able to research and resolve uncertainties… such as the artificial mucus and inner component layout.”
Looking ahead, Jun sees the experience as an important step in shaping his future: “I am very interested in pursuing a career in the engineering field, but do not know which one yet, so going to MIT and seeing a variety of fields at the highest level will help me find the field I want to pursue.”
Ms Holly, Head of Technology Faculty and SEA Regional MIT/STEAM Lead, praised Jun’s creativity and environmental focus, saying: “It is inspiring to see Jun use his imagination to tackle environmental restoration. His concept for a robot that mimics an earthworm to heal ‘dead’ soil shows exactly the kind of creative thinking we encourage through our MIT partnership. This visit is a huge opportunity for him to see how world‑class innovation starts with exactly this kind of bold, original thinking.”
We look forward to sharing updates from Jun throughout his MIT experience and celebrating everything he brings back to our school community.