January 2026 marks 10 years of Robert Gordon’s College partnership with MIT, bringing the innovative Global Teaching Lab (GTL) programme to RGC pupils who have benefited from world class learning and immersive teaching experiences across the 3 - 18 curriculum. 

In this tenth year, we welcomed Chemical Engineering undergraduate Chloe Tan and Masters of Management Studies student Ray Ruifeng Ren. This year, the GTL programme expanded not only into the Nursery for the first time but also in subjects across the College including Biology, Chemistry, Business Management, Economics. This year, the addition of English and Mandarin allowed the students to work with 33 classes and over 700 pupils. 

Chloe Tan - Chemistry, Biology, and English

Chloe is in her second year of a BSc in Chemical-Biological Engineering, minoring in Writing. She has already made an impact at MIT as Career Fair Director for BioTEch and an Executive for BrainTrust, while working in the Langer Laboratory, the world’s largest academic biomedical engineering lab.

At RGC, Chloe shared her expertise in chemical engineering and biological applications, including vaccine development. She also brought her writing skills into the English department, guiding S1 - S3 pupils through poetic rhythm and metre, inspiring creativity alongside STEM learning.

Mrs Rees, Teacher of English added: “Chloe guided the pupils through poetic metre, encouraging them to write poems employing an aspect of poetic metre.  It was really inspiring to see someone from MIT who loves both literature and STEM subjects - Chloe’s presence and engagement with the class reaped great benefits.”

In Junior School, Chloe led a three-part engineering project, challenging pupils to plan, build, test, and evaluate solutions to real-world problems using simple materials. For S2 Biology, she created a forensics lab activity aligned with the skeletal structures and coordination unit, helping pupils solve the “mystery of the missing toy” while promoting critical thinking, teamwork, and scientific reasoning.

Chloe reflected:  "It's been great to see the impact I’ve had across the school, encouraging pupils to think critically, collaborate, and enjoy science in a fun and memorable way."

Ray Ruifeng Ren - Business, Entrepreneurship, and Mandarin

Ray, pursuing an MSc in Management Studies at MIT, graduated from Tsinghua University and founded multiple successful AI start-ups. He currently serves as CEO of an AI company while studying, and is Vice President of MIT’s Entrepreneurship Club.

At RGC, Ray taught Senior School Economics and Business Management using real-world case studies, covering negotiation, budgeting, and business modelling. He also brought Mandarin classes into the GTL programme for Nursery, Junior and Senior pupils.

Reflecting on teaching Nursery pupils, Ray shared: “Pupils are so joyful and fearless in their learning.  We truly had a great time together - we sang together, danced together and we read Mandarin nursery rhymes and learned mandarin words.  Pupils at RGC are filled with energy, curiosity and passion for learning.”

Mrs Adam, Teacher of Mandarin, shared her experience of having Ray in her classes across the College and how his lessons helped pupils understand the global benefits of learning Mandarin: “I was very impressed by the knowledge Ray knew about business and the world of technology.  I think pupils will see the true value of learning a language if they know what they are learning has a meaning in the real world.  My S1 class said Ray’s class was fun and inspiring! I really enjoyed working with Ray, he gave me great ideas, gave pupils great life advice by sharing his own life experience, the Global Teaching Lab initiative is truly meaningful and valuable.”

In Primary 7 and National 5 Business classes, Ray ran a Shark Tank-style activity, asking pupils to pitch business ideas. Mrs, Proctor, Teacher of Junior School discussed Ray’s entrepreneurial involvement in her Primary 7 class: “Ray visited and shared his background, journey, learning and future aspirations. Ray guided the children through the idea of entrepreneurship. His achievements inspired the children to follow their dreams. He conveyed the notion that determination, persistence and resilience are needed to meet with success.”

The Lasting Impact

Laura Presslie, Director of Advancement shared: "Since launching this partnership in 2015, we’ve been continually impressed by the exchange of knowledge and ideas between MIT students and our pupils. This year marks a decade of collaboration - sparking curiosity and creativity across the College. The entrepreneurial mindset, scientific thinking, and global perspective brought by Chloe, Ray, and all our previous MIT GTL students has left a lasting impression on RGC pupils and alumni as they consider their future pathways."