Good news for STEM as TV tech campaigner Maggie Philbin is given an OBE in this year New Years Honours list. The honour recognises Maggie for her work in sparking young peoples’ interest in working in science, technology and engineering.
While Maggie Philbin career in the media has often been associated with science and technology – working on the iconic Tomorrow’s World and more recently Bang Goes The Theory – in 2008 she helped to start the non-profit TeenTech organisation.
TeenTech holds events that introduce school children to technical and creative careers and aims to give young people a more realistic insight into what it is like working in the high science, technology, engineering and mathematics industries.
The organisation runs regular events that allow school children to talk to people working in the field and lets them get hands on with equipment, techniques and approaches used.
In a blog post on TeenTech Maggie explained that “[she] had been struck by the profound lack of information about the opportunities available in tech across a range of sectors and industries. Students, parents, teachers, companies and often government too can have narrow perceptions of what might be possible. Far too much talent has been slipping away. I wanted TeenTech to address this.”
Stating that “it’s been incredibly exciting to see the impact TeenTech has made on students, teachers and in some cases whole communities. We’ve been so proud to see TeenTech alumni win international recognition with invitations to Silicon Valley and to watch the impact spread like a Mexican wave. In 2016 two TeenTech Young Ambassadors won Teen Hero Awards from Radio 1 for their work inspiring other young people.”
Other notable tech figures honoured this year include; Dr David Watson from IBM Research UK, Deborah Forster, chief executive of Apps for Good and Pauline Wiltshire of Barclay’s digital inclusion project.
Find out more about Teen Tech Events.
