This week we welcome MIT students Suki Zhang and Lilly Papalia to Robert Gordon’s College to teach RGC pupils using their skills in Computer Science, Data Science, Robotics and Entrepreneurship. 

Travelling from Boston to Aberdeen to spend the month of January at the College, their arrival marks the sixth year of the partnership between MIT and Robert Gordon’s College, bringing world class expertise to our classrooms to help inspire and shape future career paths for our pupils. Suki and Lilly will be based within the Computing Science and Business Studies departments in the RGC Senior School delivering classes and lectures to pupils from P7 to S6. Furthermore, they are also supporting the new RGC Online service which sets out to prepare youngsters for a future in technology. Driving ambition and aspiration from their experience at MIT, Suki and Lilly will share the culture of learning that they bring from MIT showcasing the best of their technical skills complemented by tasks that reinforce working in teams, leadership, analytical skills and critical thinking, and how to present yourself and your work. 

Lilly specialises in Mechanical Engineering and has just completed her degree programme at MIT with an interest in Robotics and Entrepreneurship. She has an impressive track record for work experience in research across a number of MIT initiatives including MIT AgeLab and the MIT Space Exploration Initiative as well as with industry partners such as General Motors where she completed an internship working on systems engineering. Outside her lectures, Lilly is a member of the MIT Track & Field Team and enjoys participating in athletics focussing on shot put, discus, weight throw and the hammer. Suki is currently studying a double major degree in Computer Science, Economics, Data Science and Business Analytics and has vast experience in leadership and sustainability programmes at MIT as well as currently working at the MIT IBM Watson AI Lab. 

Suki said: “Being a student myself, nothing makes me happier than understanding a difficult concept because a teacher has explained it well. I spent eight years living in China and attended elementary school there. I love interacting with new people and experiencing different cultures. I look forward to working with the pupils here at Robert Gordon’s and making learning fun and achievable.”    

Lilly shared: “I am excited to share real world applications of the topics RGC pupils are learning. That is something I wish I had more exposure to before my time at MIT. At MIT, I have worked as a teaching assistant in the Physics department, and I am excited to bring the skills I learned to Robert Gordon’s College.”

Learn more about our Partnership with MIT.