The new chancellor of a Scottish university, who describes herself as an “accidental trailblazer”, has said she will fulfil the role for the common good.

Anne-Marie Imafidon has spent her career helping young women break into the largely male-dominated science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).

Recognised around the world for founding Stemettes, a social enterprise which encourages girls and young women to enter the field, Dr Imafidon will be officially installed as chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) on July 2.

She will be replacing singer and campaigner Annie Lennox, the university’s previous chancellor.

As Scotland’s largest modern university, GCU promotes women’s participation in Stem through its outreach programmes, mentoring, and by offering scholarships for women in engineering, and has also received awards for its commitment to gender equality.

Originally from London, Dr Imafidon, 33, has worked on a wide range of Stem projects, including writing books on the industry, hosting podcasts and appearing on television shows, and Stemettes has reached around 60,000 young women.

Ahead of her installation as chancellor, she said she is “really excited” to be working with GCU, and that she plans to be a “chancellor for the common good” – a key value held by the university.

She said: “I actually set up quite a number of different businesses before I started Stemettes as an organisation and ran a networking events company at one point with my friends.”

It was her early experiences of various forms of discrimination that led her to help make Stem industries a more accepting space for women.

She said: “There are lots of things that were different about me that never really seemed to crop up in conversations or as we were building databases or whatever else.

“It’s always been an interesting one to kind of reflect on being in that minority and something that, at times, is also a shrinking minority in technical spaces.

“Stem has always been something I’ve enjoyed doing,  as a hobby as well as a career, and it’s only as I’ve got older and been more perceptive.

“It’s interesting to reflect on being in that minority and something that, at times, is also a shrinking minority in technical spaces.

“I’ve looked up and looked around in those rooms and noticed there’s something off about me being one of the only women in this space. I’ve ended up being an accidental trailblazer, recognising there’s a problem and wanting to do something about it. I’ve been driven and motivated, and also fortunate, to have an impact on changing the situation.