Attendees at the 2014 EMEA Member & Partner Conference were treated to a keynote from Maggie Philbin, the legendary BBC ‘Tomorrow’s World’ and ‘Swap Shop’ presenter who showcased some of the world’s greatest inventions on live TV. Her inspirational speech on the second day of EMEA outlined how industry can fuel the IT workforce of the future and inspire tomorrow’s technologies.
At the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, the veteran broadcaster described how she had witnessed the birth pangs of some of today’s most widely used technologies , from the first ever truly mobile phone — available with just 30 minutes of talk-time — to the first school PC, which filled an entire room and ran, in part, on oil.
Throughout her broadcasting career, Philbin watched groundbreaking ideas crystallise into functional products. She shared stories of inventors who, with nothing but ideas, fought the odds to change the world for the better. Clive Sinclair, for example, envisioned a home PC for less than £100 and revolutionised consumer electronics. Another inventor she mentioned nervously demonstrated the world’s first compact disc before a sceptical TV presenter who remarked dryly, ‘Whether this replaces vinyl remains to be seen’.
Philbin argued that in an exciting and uncertain era of technological evolution, the IT industry must fight harder than ever to attract the most promising young people. But while new technologies reign, old stereotypes persist. When British schoolchildren were asked to describe their image of an IT professional, they overwhelmingly depicted a “nerd in the basement,” she said. Of 300 schoolchildren in another group, only eight drew women when asked to illustrate an IT professional.
Philbin is working to tackle these stereotypes and broaden the appeal of technology through her ‘Teen Tech’ program: a series of events and a national award scheme that link the IT industry and schools to educate and motivate the STEM workforce of the future. She was joined on stage by two 15-year-olds from Manchester’s Loretto Grammar School who had designed an echo-navigation aid for visually impaired people and an anklet that allows concerned relatives to track the movements of dementia-sufferers through a smartphone app. The young women had been helped by the ’Teen Tech’ scheme to defy stereotypes and develop incredible, life-changing technologies.
Creating Engaging Resources
CompTIA’s been challenging these stereotypes, too, by creating engaging resources that showcase the breadth of opportunities a career in IT can offer. This year, CompTIA contributed to a Cyber Security Challenge UK ‘Schools Pack’ to help excite and engage thousands of UK schoolchildren in cybersecurity, with interactive lessons and national contests in everything from cryptography to code-breaking launched across hundreds of schools.
At the ‘Skills Show’ in Birmingham this month, CompTIA will be engaging children in STEM subjects with hands on activities such as a Spies Versus Code-Breakers competition for teams of gifted youngsters to decode encrypted messages and defuse a terrorist bomb and a Bletchley Park event with Intel Security.
CompTIA’s Advancing Women in IT Community arms industry ambassadors with the resources to visit schools across the U.S. and UK to reach 10,000 people with its Dream IT initiative. The program includes a Career Resource Centre and offers the message that IT is a great career choice for girls and women.
As Philbin argued, it is only through direct contact with schools that the IT industry can dispel false perceptions at the formative stage, drive home the message that IT is as much about creativity and communication as tech know-how and address the industry-wide ‘gender imbalance’.
Check our blog for more coverage on EMEA, including ways to maximize relationships between partners and vendors, and the how-tos, testimonials and tools discussed during 2014’s closing CompTIA’s UK Channel Community meeting.
