Creative Sparks:
Emily Cummins
New awards for Emily - the December edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine has a great feature on Emily as Ultimate Woman of the Year.
Emily was awarded the Ignite! Creative Spark award in 2005/6 and is using it to help her to improve and develop her fridge design. Emily’s sustainable fridge uses the sun’s rays to evaporate water. which in turn, keeps the contents of the fridge cool. Emily came up with the idea at school and has recently tested it in Africa. Using her Ignite! award she is continuing to improve her invention and hopes to take it back to Africa in the Summer.
Emily has also attended an Ignite! Creativity Weekend and had this to say;
‘Before I went to Africa I was asked to go on an Ignite! creativity weekend as a result of winning my Ignite! award. I went with a group of young people where we spent the weekend being creative. I loved the fact that I was interacting with people all whom were creative but in many different fields. It was so different from anything that I had experienced before and I thought it was amazing. Whilst I was out in Africa I received confirmation that on my return Ignite! would give me some funding to develop and carry on working on what I had been doing. This was an incredible opportunity for me.
On my arrival back to the UK I went for a meeting with Rick Hall from Ignite! and found that I would get the opportunity to work with a creative partner and further my development. So at the moment I am balancing my technology and sustainability with my university management degree. Earlier this month I won the technology women of the future and am classed as a role model for younger people. I want to encourage creativity and encourage younger people to think out of the box.
I don’t think that you can learn to be creative, young people just need to be given more chances and explore innovation. There is no textbook for people to read, young people just need to have more time in a more hands on form. More practical time and more freedom is needed, as by sticking to strict guidelines doesn’t allow for differences, everyone is just the same. By having the chance to be creative at such a young age I was lucky. To be creative is a way of thinking and to be sat in a room like my in biology lessons give no chance for people to explore their creativity. Many young people are not getting the chance.
Anyone who has a creative spark, at the time when learning is at its highest point their spark is likely to fade as mine did when I had to adhere to a syllabus’.
Emily has recently won the following awards:
Merchant Adventurers Award for Enterprise Winner, 2006
Technology Women Of The Future, 2006
Female Innovator of the Year , 2007
Diamond Award for Exceptional Creativity, 2007
Appointed ‘Girls make your Mark Ambassador’ , 2007
Appointed 'Women of Achievement Ambassador' - 2007-2008