Teen Wins Top UK Scholarship For Innovative Medical Drone Design
Kande Sill, 16, has been awarded the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, one of the UK’s most prestigious honors for young engineering talent. Her award-winning project, “Enhancing Medical Delivery,” explores how drones can securely transport critical medical supplies, such as vaccines and blood, to underserved communities.
Medical drone innovation
Sill’s design features an insulated, theft-resistant container and a delivery mechanism designed for safety and precision. “My project focused on the development of a secure medical drone delivery system to transport sensitive items while preventing theft,” she told her school.
The Arkwright Scholarship provides mentoring, industry sponsorship, and development opportunities throughout the final two years of school. Sill will learn later this year which company will sponsor and mentor her as she continues to build on her innovation.
Her mentor, Vern Brown, praised her rare combination of skills. “Kande brings a rare mix of creativity, technical knowledge, and compassion. She’s not just an engineer in the making; she’s already leading by example,” he said, according to a press release.
Engineering meets art
Additionally, she is an accomplished author, having written three novels under the name Kande S. Summers, which tackle a range of themes, from science fiction to gender equality, including Going Home: Diary of a Teenage Alien, Nala’s Story, and The Lost Destiny. She was a featured Youth Author at the Emirates Literature Festival, represented Jamaica at Expo 2020 Dubai, and participated in the United Nations Model Conference in Abu Dhabi.
Sill also serves as a Youth Ambassador for the Look Like Me Book Challenge in London, contributing to Raised Voices, an anthology funded by BBC Children in Need. Her advocacy was recently featured in a Clear Channel campaign calling out the lack of diversity in children’s publishing.
Image credit: Kande Sill
