Creative Sparks
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James Winfield
Last summer I was selected to take part in the Prime Ministers Global Fellowship (PMGF) programme. Essentially it is a cultural exchange programme, where 100 of the brightest ‘school leavers’ aged 18-19 have the opportunity to spend 6 weeks in either Brazil, China or India. I went to India. It was a life changing experience. I learnt so much about diversity and respect for other cultures. I spent some time helping teach in a school and spent two weeks working at Shell Petroleum. Working at Delhi Public School was extremely rewarding. Shell was a brilliant experience; it gave me a great overview of different aspects of business and how a global company operates, along with focusing my career aspirations.
Since that summer I and 9 friends have been working hard to set up the Bangalore Fellowship Foundation (BFF). Our initial aim was to provide scholarships to private schools for gifted and talented children from poor backgrounds. In July this year, we partnered with ‘Asha for Education’, a fantastic organisation that has many different educational projects in India. So now we act more as a fund-raising body, using Asha for Education’s established infrastructure and invaluable contacts. I and 2 friends have recently just returned from completing a 5-day sponsored bicycle ride from London to Paris, for the BFF in association with Asha for Education.
Soon I will start my second year at Edinburgh University, studying Mechanical Engineering with Renewable Energies. How things are made and creating things has long fascinated me. So have green issues, such as climate change and global warming, which have captivated my passions since a very early age. Hence, it seemed natural for me to combine these two interests in my degree.
The award money from Creative Sparks and the fabulous support that the team offers, will mean I can explore these interests and follow through with ideas that I only could have dreamt of. I can’t wait to get started!
