Maggie Philbin has worked for over 30 years as a science and technology reporter, from Tomorrow’s World to Bang Goes The Theory. She has consistently worked to help improve diversity in Science, Technology and Engineering and co-founded TeenTech in 2008. She is President of the Institute of Engineering Design, Chair of the UK Digital Skills Taskforce, serves on the STEM Commission for Haringey and is an honorary member of the Women’s Engineering Society.

Britain is in the midst of another industrial revolution and only by engendering the spirit that allowed us to thrive so well in the first will we succeed in the next. For this to happen we need our young people to see technology and related applied sciences as a future not which they might just benefit from but which they can help create. If you have the right skills, if you have the right network, if you have the right attitude, this is a time of opportunity. We have to make sure we equip everyone in the UK for the digital revolution. Not just a fortunate few.

Andy started his career at Aardmann Features before joining the BBC as part of their move to develop online services. He has been at the forefront of technical and editorial development surrounding online and interactive services ever since. Currently Head of Business Development for The Digital Production Partnership, Andy joined the DPP from his role on BBC Make it Digital, where as Partnership Lead he led a collaboration between 54 partners, all helping to deliver one of the BBC’s most ambitious education initiatives in 30 years. Prior to this he was the Head of the BBC College of Technology, overseeing all training and development for technology, software engineering and enterprise systems for the BBC.

The UK needs the best talent to help us to innovate and create new technologies and products for the future. TeenTech’s unique blend of showcase events and a challenging awards competition helps to inspire children about careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. TeenTech’s diverse challenges enable children to develop their own ideas to solve problems from a range of sectors, helping them to learn what it takes to develop, invent and prototype solutions. Aided by fantastic partner organisations, TeenTech helps to shine a light on the opportunities that technical careers offer young people. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help TeenTech to continue to grow and to be able to inspire the next generation of inventors, scientists and digital creatives.

Darren is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Europe, Middle-East, Africa and India regions at Commvault Software, a software company providing tools to help companies become resilience to cyber risk. Previously, Darren served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Vice-President of Technology at Symantec where he had overall technical responsibility for security solutions. His current responsibilities touch on software engineering, cyber security strategy and the design and modelling of cyber resilience strategies. Darren is a regular contributor to various media publications and appears regularly on podcasts, television and radio programmes.

I’m passionate about the cause and the methods employed at TeenTech and, in particular, I’ve always been impressed by the way the TeenTech awards not only encourage students to develop high-quality projects but to become powerful ambassadors for the industry. At Commvault, we are passionate about providing opportunities for talented people to work in the software domain regardless of background or genre. I’m very proud and honoured to be part of the TeenTech team.

Chris is a Finance Executive in the software industry and is passionate about helping private technology companies and the people that drive them to realize their full potential. Taking software companies public on both the NASDAQ and the NYSE, Chris understands what it takes to be successful in the technology space and most recently he was Chief Financial Officer of Sprinklr (CXM) where he spent 9 years growing the company to where it now employees over 3,000 people in nearly 30 countries around the world.

As someone who’s worked in technology for most of my professional life, I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact that an organisation creating opportunities for young people in STEM can have when those amazing talents enter the workforce. TeenTech is a phenomenal organisation that has created an invaluable platform to inspire and empower our future technology innovators and I’m excited to lend my experience to this important mission.

Sandra has extensive experience of building relationships between schools, businesses and the local community. Whilst Director of Humber Education Business Partnership she collaborated with us from 2011, helping to take TeenTech from a local initiative to one running nationally. She has great understanding of the best ways to build a community around an initiative, helping to ensure its sustainability and greatly magnifying its long term impact.

TeenTech is inspiring in so many ways. Although intended to motivate young people, we know that teaching staff and employers learn so much from being involved. This has helped to rejuvenate the school curriculum and given a real boost to Science and Technology subjects. TeenTech helps students clearly see different pathways and provides opportunities for quality interactions with apprentices and graduates to understand the advantages of respective routes.

Della Burnside is a Solicitor and Managing Partner of the law firm, The Burnside Partnership. Over the years, Della has worked in both private practice and in-house at international businesses. She started her legal career specialising in intellectual property.

Della has held a number of directorships, including within the NHS and as Chair of McDonald’s UK Pensions Scheme. She has advised many charities and is an experienced trustee. Della is involved in a wide variety of start-up businesses and is a director of Inavya Ventures Limited, a med tech company focussed on using technology to manage lifestyle-related medical conditions. In addition, she supports initiatives encouraging social mobility, including through apprenticeship programmes of which she has considerable experience.

I have followed TeenTech’s activities for a number of years and have been incredibly impressed with its ability to engage and inspire young people with innovative and fun initiatives to promote science, technology and engineering. It has been wonderful to see first-hand the enthusiasm TeenTech’s programmes generate in young people, their parents and teachers. I am delighted to support TeenTech’s continuing work to help students develop key skills, such as communication, teamwork and persuasion, and help foster a life-long interest in innovation.

Kate works for the Infosys Knowledge Institute, leading on cybersecurity, and has been writing about tech for more than 20 years. Previously she was the editor of Which? Computing magazine and she has worked for the BBC, the FT and the Guardian, among others, during her long career as a writer and a journalist. Kate is regarded as a leading expert on technology and has appeared on many radio and TV programmes from BBC Radio 4’s Today and PM programmes to Sky News, Channel 4 News and Al-Jazeera English. She is particularly interested in cybersecurity, and in communicating complex stories and issues clearly to a non-expert audience.

I was first approached by Maggie to be a judge for TeenTech a few years ago, and that was the start of my involvement in something I have loved doing and am proud to be a part of ever since. Seeing the excitement of the young people and being able to help them see what a career in STEM could offer them is a delight, and I am very proud to become a more formal and involved part of TeenTech.

Headshot by David Firn

John is the Headteacher of Langley Grammar School in Slough, a large mixed selective school with a reputation for using technology effectively to support students’ learning.  Originally a mechanical engineer by training, he became a Physics teacher over 30 years ago and has held teaching and leadership posts in a number of different schools.  Through his school’s different designations, John is involved in a range of wider programmes and initiatives including teacher training, ongoing professional development and the use of individual technology for learning. He is a trained Ofsted inspector and enjoys the privilege of being able to visit other primary and secondary schools on a regular basis.

Children and young people are growing up in fast-moving world and embracing technology in ways we could not have foreseen just a few years ago.  However, there is still much to be done to persuade many young people to see themselves as contributors to the digital future instead of simply users of it. I am impressed by TeenTech’s imaginative and hands-on approach to encouraging young people to explore their potential futures in this area and am grateful for the opportunity to be part of the organisation and provide a perspective from what we used to call the ‘chalkface’.

Erem Kassim-Lakha is a Partner at McKinsey & Company.  She focuses on helping clients across a range of industries achieve their growth objectives through bold commercial transformation.  She has over 20 years of consulting, management leadership and private equity experience.  Prior to joining McKinsey, Erem was the Global Managing Director of Impressionist & Modern Art at Christie’s. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelors in Political Science from Brown University in the US. She has a 13 year-old daughter.

What excites me is the level of innovation that technology is bringing to different parts of the global economy and society.  More than ever, it is important to equip our youth with the confidence to embrace this innovation and help build a resilient future.  Technology is the new fuel – we are shaping our future leaders now, so all efforts to inspire confidence in our youth should be amplified.

Andy has been leading Enterprise Digitalisation at Bentley Motors for the last 4 years. He is responsible for driving the adoption of digital technology such as software development, data analytics and UX design to improve user experiences and drive efficiencies. He is also responsible for leading and developing future digital talent at Bentley. Andy has two decades of experience within the automotive industry as an Engineer and Project Manager.

When I first came across TeenTech, I was inspired by the mission to help young people understand the wealth of career opportunities available in science, technology and engineering. The need for talented and diverse people in industry with these skills is growing rapidly, and a deep talent pool is critical to the success of UK PLC. I’m excited for the opportunity to help TeenTech have a positive impact on as many young people as possible, as well as contributing to the talent pipeline for industry.

Bill is the Managing Director of Noise (UK) Ltd, a nationwide service network for consumer electronics and electricals and Commercial Project Director at PCCS Group Ltd, a software house providing solutions to companies large and small across the globe. Having started his career as an apprentice electronics engineer he has since worked in many varied roles from Service Manager to Tech Journalist and more recently Director General of a trade association, during which time he helped develop new qualifications with City & Guilds and a Trailblazer Apprenticeship scheme incorporating a hybrid teaching model allowing classroom, workplace and online learning. Bill also contributed to the UK Digital Skills Taskforce back in 2014.

I have always been passionate about encouraging young people into the various tech industries, having witnessed the demise of truly meaningful apprenticeships and witnessing the average age of the workforce in many of them steadily increase over the years. Thankfully I have been able to contribute in some small way in reversing this and worked with Teentech in its early years to help promote this. Having seen just what impact Teentech could have I now feel extremely fortunate to be able to continue this work further and as a Trustee, use all of my knowledge, experience and contacts to help it reach its full potential and reach as many young people as possible to inspire them with all of the varied possibilities there are in the world of tech.

Alan began as a physicist at the University of Southampton. However, he developed an interest in computing early on through signal processing for gamma ray burst detectors, and so switched to engineering after his BSc. Hence for his post graduate research, he moved to the engineering faculty to develop computer based techniques for analysing and recovering complex signals, including audio and structural vibrations.

After leaving university Alan worked for the UK government for many years, for whom he still provides advice. He has particular expertise in, and continues to conduct research into, cybersecurity, covert communications, forensic computing and image/signal processing. Alan has been involved in some of the most significant advances in computer technology which have seen him gain a number of professional accolades such as being made a Chartered Engineering, Chartered IT Practitioner, a Chartered Physicist, and Eur Ing, as well as academic awards such as being elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Royal Statistical Society and British Computer Society.

Technology and Engineering are our future. TeenTech is so rare in recognising this. There are numerous initiatives to involve young people in understanding science but TeenTech is one of a very select few that shows the next generation how it can be applied. I was delighted to be asked to be part of what I see as a vital task: engaging young people to be part of shaping our future rather than just being passengers on someone else’s journey.

I’ve spent much of my career working in Technology at the BBC and was privileged to serve on the TeenTech board for five years. TeenTech enthuses the Scientists, Engineers and Technologists of tomorrow that the UK so badly needs and to help UK industry to bridge the gulf to attract and retain them.

I am very excited to join TeenTech, as it has a great track record of inspiring school children to discover a wide variety of career options and have fun along the way. I really admire how it uses its wide network of trusted partners to deliver on an impressive scale across the country. I look forward to supporting the team, especially as it moves into its 10th year of operation.

As an app, games and website developer, I love that TeenTech enables me to inspire the next generation of innovators, working with young people across the UK. TeenTech also allows me to imagine and create exciting solutions to help us maximise our impact and reach even more young people. Throughout COVID, we pivoted quickly to deliver lively, fun and engaging virtual events that students, teachers and parents highly praised, and we worked with more than 18,000 students in the past twelve months through virtual and in-person events.