Ambassador Kirsty’s Antarctic adventure
Visit will inspire future generations
A former Forth Valley College graduate has returned from an expedition to Antarctica aimed at boosting the global impact of women in maths and science sectors.
Dr Kirsty Robb, 36, from Stirling was one of only three Scottish based women on a ship that set sail in January for one of the world’s most inhospitable areas.
Now Kirsty has agreed to become an alumni ambassador for Forth Valley College and help inspire a new generation of young people to get involved in science and maths subjects.
“The experience will certainly stand me in good stead for whatever I do in the future,” said Kirsty.
“I have certainly learned a lot more transferable skills, it was not all about science. I have met some great people and there was no one among the 80 people on the expedition on the ship that I would not hesitate to contact for something or other.”
Originally from Ayrshire, Kirsty, completed an HND in biological sciences at FVC and won the best student award in the department of applied science when she graduated in 2009.
She then enrolled at Strathclyde University for the third year of a BSc Hons degree in biochemistry and immunology, graduating in 2011 and beginning her PhD in structural dynamics of bacterial proteins.
Now a post-doctoral researcher at the Strathclyde Institute of pharmacy and biomedical science in Glasgow, Kirsty is working with GlaxoSmithKline in the fight against superbugs.
She is also an experienced mountaineer and mountain leader, qualified to guide people in the mountains of Scotland.
Kirsty’s expedition ship, the MV Ushuaia, left Argentina on December 31, arriving on the White Continent on January 2. Kirsty then spent 21 days on her expedition before returning to Argentina and Scotland in recent weeks.
Launched in 2016, the initiative, called Homeward Bound is targeting 1,000 women from around the world, all with science technology, engineering and maths backgrounds, to undertake a year-long programme to develop their leadership and strategic capabilities.
Kirsty added: “I could still have learned a lot if we had not gone to Antarctica, but being in such an isolated and inspiring environment crystallised our learning.
“It was amazing not having the dayto-day and social media responsibilities we all have today and the effect of having no contact with the outside world.
“We always slept on the ship and had a 6.30am start, then we would have four or five hours of workshops, but we would always try and make a landing on Antarctica every day.
“The scenery was amazing and so vast and we saw wildlife such as three different types of penguin, humpback whales every day, killer whales and numerous sea birds –I even saw a wandering albatross when we were going through the Drake Passage in 12 metre waves on our return leg.
“I am going to do the double by visiting the Arctic Circle next year with Love Her Wild UK - a women’s outdoor adventure group - across 200 kilometres of the Finnmark Plateau in Norway. I can’t wait.”
For more about science, maths, technology and engineering courses at FVC, call 01324 403000 or visit www. forthvalley.ac.uk.