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Carol Balfour
Design director & co-founder, Neucin Design Ltd
And - Former lecturer, Product Design, Glasgow Caledonian University
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Ask questions and have an opinion. Not everybody is going to like you, but that's ok, be true to yourself.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I am a co-founder of a small, driven company which designs and develops medical device products primarily in inhalation, from initial concepts through to industrialised commercially available products.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS FIELD?
When I was at school, I wanted to be an architect as I used to see all the models they made. I always loved drawing and in particular making things - clothes, models, toys, cards.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK AT & THINK, "I WISH YOUNGER ME WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS WAS POSSIBLE?"
I don’t think I would have preferred to do anything differently based on what I know now. I don’t regret leaving school early with no qualifications because the life experience I had before I went to study was invaluable to help me concentrate and made me aspire for more.
WHY DO YOU LOVE WORKING IN STEM?
Every day is different, I am always solving problems, I can get to be practical and work with my hands, whether that be making models prototypes, or using 3D CAD Software to create and mock of my ideas.
I love to be able to create my ideas in software one day and the next day 3D print my designs and have quick, direct feedback. It's a process I really enjoy and feeds my passion for being hands on.
I still am not very good at English and don’t like writing reports, however I have to and you shouldn’t let this kind of thing deter you or discourage you.
BEST ADVICE FOR NEXT GENERATION?
You don’t have to be amazing at all subjects at school, you don’t have to go to university - you just need to have determination, drive and passion.
INSPO / FUN FACT
My friend Adrian probably doesn’t know this, nor does his mum but I most admire his mother. She was from Glasgow and in the 1970’s immigrated to South Africa to become a Crane driver. That story fills me with such admiration and determination at how brave she was at that time, to give up her life in Glasgow and move across to become a Crane Driver.