Finding Purpose Through Curiosity: A Changemaker Interview with Science Fuse Founder Lalah Rukh

Finding your calling is rarely a straight line. For Lalah Rukh, founder and CEO of the social enterprise Science Fuse, it has been a journey shaped by curiosity, migration, humility, and a deep belief that every child belongs in science.

In this first Changemaker Interview (recorded over some delicious Pakistani food at Lalah’s home) Lalah shares how her lived experiences across Pakistan, Norway and the UK helped her discover her purpose and how social entrepreneurship became the vehicle through which she brings science to children who are too often excluded from it.

From curiosity to purpose: Lalah Rukh’s journey

Lalah describes her purpose simply: to change children and young people’s relationship with science.

“I wanted to do something that would transform people’s lives”

Growing up in Karachi, she was drawn to science early on. At 12, she read an article about genetics and personalised medicine that captured her imagination. She fell in love with the DNA molecule and began to see science as a gateway to something bigger than a prescribed career path.

Yet school slowly dulled that excitement. Science became about memorisation, fear of failure, and exclusion rather than curiosity. By her late teens, Lalah knew that the system wasn’t working for her.

What she did know—even then—was that she wanted to create change.

“I didn’t know the word ‘social entrepreneurship’,” she says, “but I knew I wanted to do something meaningful.”

Detours that became foundations

Moving to Norway at 17 was a turning point. Navigating a new language, culture, and education system challenged Lalah but it also gave her resilience, independence, and confidence.

When university didn’t suit her learning style, she volunteered instead. That decision led her to Forskerfabrikken, a Norwegian social enterprise making science accessible to children through play.

It was there that everything clicked.

“I realised this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Five years later, equipped with hands‑on experience and a clearer sense of purpose, Lalah returned to Pakistan not to “fix” things, but to listen, learn, and build something with communities.

How Science Fuse is reimagining science education

Science Fuse exists to ensure that children and young people—regardless of background, gender, disability or geography—can experience science as joyful, relevant, and empowering.

In a country where 26 million children are out of school, and where even in-school learning often suppresses curiosity, Science Fuse focuses on science capital: the experiences, relationships and mindsets that help young people see science as for them.

This means:

• Using everyday, low-cost materials instead of expensive labs
• Teaching science through play, storytelling and local context
• Challenging stereotypes about who scientists are
• Bringing science to hospitals, rural schools, festivals, and marginalised communities

One of Lalah’s most powerful insights came during a science festival in a desert region of Pakistan, when a child asked whether a soap bubble was a liquid or a solid.

“That question stunned me,” she says. “It reminded me that curiosity doesn’t belong to the privileged. Children are born with it—we just need to protect it.”

Building a social enterprise with humility

Lalah is honest about how her purpose evolved. Early on, she returned to Pakistan with confidence but, as she says, without humility.

“I had to learn that you can’t arrive with a magic wand. You have to sit with people, understand complexity, and build solutions together.”

That shift shaped Science Fuse into a community‑rooted organisation and shaped Lalah as a leader.

Today, she measures alignment not through recognition or scale, but through shared growth. Former team members become leaders. Young participants become changemakers. Some have even launched their own social enterprises.

“When others grow because of the work, not just me, that’s how I know I’m on the right path.”

The realities of funding and sustainability

Like many social entrepreneurs, Lalah speaks candidly about the financial realities of impact work. Building Science Fuse required personal sacrifice, strong relationships, and privilege, including the support of her partner and family.

Her message is clear: social entrepreneurship is not charity.

“You need resources. You need to pay people—including yourself—if the work is to be sustainable.”

At the same time, she recognises the gendered and cultural barriers that make risk‑taking harder for many women, particularly those without safety nets.

Lessons for aspiring social entrepreneurs

For those who feel called to create change but don’t yet know how, Lalah offers reassurance:

“Explore. Try different things. Volunteer. Be curious. You’re not wasting time, you’re learning.”

She believes purpose reveals itself through action, not overthinking.

“If you care about something deeply, you’ll stick with it. And when you do, skills, confidence and even money eventually follow.”

Staying anchored

What keeps Lalah grounded when the work gets hard?

Connection. Curiosity. Nature. And vulnerability.

“My work is a big part of my identity,” she reflects. “But what really sustains me is community.”

As long as curiosity remains alive, she knows she’s exactly where she needs to be.

My favourite quotes from Lalah’s interview:

• “Every child is born curious. Curiosity doesn’t need privilege, opportunity does.”
• “You can’t arrive with a magic wand. You have to sit with communities, understand complexity, and build solutions together.”
• “Social entrepreneurship is not charity. You need resources to make impact sustainable.”
• “Passion can go up and down, but curiosity keeps you digging deeper.”
• “Life is lived forwards but understood backwards” a Norwegian saying.

“Science is the same in Paris and Pakistan. What changes is how we make it accessible and meaningful.”

Lalah Rukh

Connect with Lalah and Science Fuse