Dundee School Girl Wins Award for AI Solution to ‘Rubbish’ Problem

An 11-year-old Dundee schoolgirl has won a prestigious award for predicting what AI could look like in 25 years.

Cara Tosh from Forthill Primary School was one of nearly 200 primary school pupils from across the city vying for the Dundee Lord Provost STEM Inspiration Award. The challenge invited pupils to create a poster responding to the question, “What will artificial intelligence (AI) look like in 25 years?”

A vibrant and imaginative collection of entries has been showcased throughout the Dundee Science Festival and will remain on display until the festival’s final day on Sunday, 22 October 2026.

Cara, who won a 3D-printed trophy, shield and Dundee Science Centre hamper, was singled out for her ‘AI Bin’ concept, which she believes would solve the problem of people putting rubbish in the wrong bin. Her idea would use AI to sort rubbish into plastics, paper, food or general waste.

Meanwhile, 10-year-old Edward Holmes, also from Forthill Primary, is a runner-up with his Fingerprint DNA scanner, which would identify a baby’s chances of developing an illness in later life.

Two pupils from Rowantree Primary School, Tyreece Merchant of primary five and Aeryn Burton of primary seven, also received runner-up prizes, with Tyreece reimagining productivity with a multi-tasking robot octopus, and Aeryn questioning how we may improve agriculture through a solar-powered fruit-picking robot.

Cara, Edward and their classmates marked their success with a special free visit to the Centre, where they were presented with their prizes by Bill Campbell, Lord Provost of Dundee.

During the celebration visit, pupils had the opportunity to explore the Centre’s interactive exhibits and meet Festival exhibitors, before taking part in an engaging, hands-on workshop focused on the water cycle. In the session, sponsored by Scottish Water, students created their own mini water cycles and investigated the processes involved in delivering clean, safe water to our taps.

Presenting the awards, Lord Provost Campbell said, “It is an absolute pleasure to be here today at Dundee Science Centre to present this year’s Lord Provost of Dundee STEM Inspiration Award. This is now the third time that I have presented these awards, and it is one of the highlights of my year. The award is all about recognising the incredible curiosity and creativity of young minds who are passionate about science, technology, engineering and maths. STEM education ignites the spark of innovation, and it is an honour to present this award in front of the young individuals who represent the future.”

Jill Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of Dundee Science Centre, added, “Once again, it’s been wonderful to see such a variety of entries to this year’s Dundee Lord Provost STEM Inspiration Award, a fantastic showcase of the vibrant ideas and imaginations of our local young people.

“As we reflect on Dundee Science Centre’s first 25 years, and our continued mission to make science accessible, AI has clearly struck a chord with our school pupils, and it’s heartening to see the positive opportunities which the younger generation envisage for this technology. Cara’s original and timely idea addresses a real-world challenge related to sustainability and the environment today, while reflecting Dundee Science Centre’s values of fun, creativity, caring, and authenticity. We were also impressed by her artistic design, which excelled across all three criteria of originality, closeness to theme and creative design. On behalf of all the judges and the wider Dundee Science Festival team, we congratulate Cara and all the runners-up who showed real imagination and ambition with their ideas.”