Poppy Fairbairn
Age: 14 | Location: Fife, Scotland | Pronouns: she/her
Hiya, my name is Poppy Fairbairn. I am currently in second year of high school and enjoy studying a wide variety of subjects especially all the sciences as well as technology. I am passionate about helping promote STEM to help solve some of the biggest challenges and I am doing this through the Youth STEM Summit Design Team and the COP26 co-design group to help combat the current climate crisis. In my free time I love to do sports (swimming, netball, tennis & athletics), volunteer with other organisations and hang out with friends.
Q+A: Poppy Fairbairn on STEM in everyday life, support for young people, and getting started in STEM…
If you had infinite time, money and resources to solve just one global challenge, what would it be, and why?
I would make sure that every young person all across the world has access to good education, healthcare, and support (financially & mentally), because I believe that allowing everyone to have an equal starting point in life would allow so many young people to reach their full potential. This would create a lot of incredible ideas and solutions to the world’s biggest problems.
How did you get involved in STEM?
I got involved in STEM at first by just doing everyday activities (i.e. counting how many tennis balls I had), then through school and eventually I started entering competitions involving STEM. Now I am helping to inspire other young people to get involved in STEM.
If you could share one tip for someone who's new to making a difference through STEM, what would it be?
There is no limit to what STEM can solve, so start brainstorming! Don’t be afraid to get involved in your community or online to help make an impact using STEM. Everyone can take part in STEM no matter your age, gender, ethnicity, background etc.
How do you think STEM is impacting your community?
STEM is being used all over the world, by helping us understand why certain things happen the way they do on Earth and on other planets. STEM also helps to solve challenges right now (i.e. by helping to create vaccines and protection against viruses). In my community, lots of people are using STEM in their everyday jobs/life and others are further evolving their knowledge of STEM.
What do you hope that the Youth STEM Summit will achieve in terms of empowering youth globally to tackle the world's biggest challenges, and why do you think this is important?
I hope that the summit helps to inspire young people from all over the world to get involved in STEM through their community, online, learning, researching etc. and to come away having learnt something new.
What are you most excited for about the Youth STEM Summit?
I am excited to hear lots of opinions from all ages, all stages in life and from all over the globe. I am also excited to learn more about STEM and the impact it is making in the world currently!