Midrand teen, 16, gets amazing chance to represent his school at Imperial College London

Kopano Dichabe, a Grade 11 Reddam House Helderfontein student, earned a place on Imperial College London's prestigious Global Summer School engineering programme
The 16-year-old from Midrand spent two weeks exploring aerospace, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering disciplines alongside peers from around the world
One team challenge involving a cardboard crane gave Kopano an unexpected lesson that reshaped how he thinks about engineering

A post. — Midrand teen Kopano Dichabe, 16, on the right and a building with the Imperial sign in front on the left. Images: Supplied
Source: Original

A 16-year-old South African student has returned from two weeks at one of the world's most respected universities with sharper ambitions and a clearer sense of where he is headed.

Kopano Dichabe, a Grade 11 learner at Reddam House Helderfontein in Midrand, attended the Imperial Global Summer School at Imperial College London from 29 June to 10 July 2026. The engineering-focused programme exposed him to university-level work across aerospace, chemical, mechanical, civil and design engineering.

Getting in was not straightforward. Kopano had to submit his academic record, write a personal motivation letter and obtain a teacher reference to secure his place. For him, the effort was worth it.

"Imperial College has been my dream school for as long as I can remember, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to earn my place there, even briefly," he said.

A lifelong passion for how things work

Kopano's interest in engineering started early. Growing up watching Formula 1 racing sparked his curiosity about the science behind high-performance machines, and watching his father work as a mechanical engineer gave him a practical sense of what the discipline looks like in everyday life.

During the first week at Imperial, students worked through hands-on sessions that included exploring a Mach 7 wind tunnel, using flight simulators and engaging with carbon capture technology. A standout moment came during a mechanical engineering challenge where teams had to construct a crane using minimal materials within a strict time limit.

While other groups built complex structures with pulley systems, Kopano's team went in the opposite direction, choosing a design that relied on the vertical strength of corrugated cardboard. Theirs carried the heaviest load.

"It was a genuinely humbling lesson," Kopano said. "The most sophisticated-looking solution isn't always the most effective one, and elegance in engineering often lies in simplicity."

From London to a broader vision

The second week pushed students into business thinking. Kopano's team identified Type 2 diabetes as a real-world problem and developed a concept solution, which they presented in a final pitch combining science, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Living in student accommodation in South Kensington and working alongside young people from across the globe also gave him a first taste of university life, including the demanding academic workload that stretched well into the evenings.

The programme also nudged his curiosity towards aerospace engineering, an area he began researching further after returning home.

Kopano currently studies Physical Science, Engineering Graphics and Design, and Further Studies Mathematics. His goal remains to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. The summer school, he said, did not redirect that goal but made it feel more deliberate.

"It didn't so much change my direction as sharpen it. It cemented my resolve to pursue Mechanical Engineering at a tertiary level, with a genuine sense of conviction rather than simply an assumption."

Midrand teen, 16, gets amazing chance to represent his school at Imperial College London

A lifelong passion for how things work

From London to a broader vision

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