Building Dreams at MIT: Dover Court Students reflect about MIT-Nord Anglia STEAM Trip 2023

At MIT, they attended a series of lectures about autonomous robots, space exploration, sustainable energy solutions and more by current MIT PhD students and professors. This exclusive MIT- Nord Anglia STEAM collaboration also allowed them to build and experiment in workshops, deep dive into the new discoveries that will shape the future through collaborative projects. Networking, visiting the cutting-edge laboratories to witness how STEAM is shaping the future were also planned.

Picking up soft skills is one of the biggest takeaways for Xavier. “I learned how to better collaborate, the importance of being open-minded and worked on my logical thinking skills at MIT,” he said. It was also a pleasure for him to learn firsthand about the courses at MIT and the admissions process.

“I am mostly interested in Computer Science and Software Engineering and had the opportunity to understand more about the MIT’s application process. I also learned about water robotics and saw students there designing and creating fixes for aquatic issues for Boston. That was really interesting for me as I have an interest in aquatic life and robotics. This trip has allowed me to understand more about the field I like to peruse and be more open to different ways to solve a problem. Interacting with the MIT students gave me a glimpse into what university life could be like too,” he continued.

Xavier's interest in Computer Science and Software Engineering aligns well with the exposure he gained through this trip as he went on an exploration with water robotics, showcasing real-world applications of technology.

Xavier recounted some highlights of his time there with us:

We did a walk every day to the MIT Sloan School of Management. The walk had some amazing views except for the days that were rainy, wet and/or -2°c. On the first day we did a long treasure hunt where we had full access to the whole campus and had to find certain locations in the campus and complete a challenge from them. My group completed one of the challenges towards the end.

We saw some very big landmarks in MIT too! After the scavenger hunt, we all went to a biology lab to analyse the DNA and the mutations of a fruit fly. We got to see them under a microscope and saw the individual cells of a dissected fruit fly. That night for dinner we went to cheesecake factory where I had this amazing burger.

On the second day, I went to an aquatic robotics developer place where this ex-employee from Disney engineering builds robots to save environmental problems in Boston. On the third and fourth day, we got into groups and started working on a project. In our group, we created a banana fidget toy to help with concentration.

Read more about Hayden’s reflections:

This entire NAE-MIT program was a big blessing to go to and I want to thank everyone who supported me. This was a once in a lifetime experience that had many new opportunities and options to explore. I made many new acquaintances and friends from the Nord Anglia family of schools during the trip. Each part of MIT had lots of new and very fascinating moments.

The numerous new connections I made from all around the world made this trip special. We did lots of collaborative activities together such as the woodwork and cosmos workshop. When one of us struggled with something, we would support each other. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and all of us working together strengthened our relationships.

Everything was unique in a cool way whether it was the MIT Dome, MIT Museum, or the Stata Centre. My favorite was the MIT Museum as it showed me lots of innovative and appealing models of everything you would ever think of. It was one of, if not, the most bizarre museums I have ever been to, displaying different artifacts including battlebots, automatic arms that can perform various actions, and even ‘Kismet,’ an expressive robot head!

Overall, this trip was a wonderful experience, and I gained many new knowledge and friends. It was a highlight and I definitely recommend this experience to students who has an interest in STEAM!