North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson joined pupils at Red Oaks Primary School to understand how technology might influence jobs in the future.
Anna Somaiya, Head of Digital Technology & Data Strategy at KPMG, visited the school to lead a series of workshops with Year 5 & 6 pupils to encourage them to consider a career or further study in technology.
The event was organised as part of 'IT’s Her Future', an initiative set up by Anna which aims to improve diversity in the tech industry and inspire children to become tomorrow's inventors.
Prior to the workshops, Justin was invited to speak at an assembly – where he spoke about how technology helps him as an MP to engage with residents – such as through Skype, e-mail, online petitions, social media – and how future technology might help him even further as an MP.
The children then took part in a number of hands on activities, such as creating circuits to make LED candles, programming a robot and experiencing a virtual reality game.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “It was great to see the children so excited and enthused about technology. It was very interesting to see how technology will influence many different sectors, such as how augmented reality is already helping the fashion and beauty industry; or how holograms might aid teachers in the future. Technology is going to play an increasing role in many sectors and acquiring technical knowledge and skills – such as coding and building circuits – will be vital for young people. Events like this offer a fun way to give children a preliminary understanding of these skills, which could encourage them to develop them further.”
