The event will centre around nurturing the development of tech workers, helping businesses in the region combat a potential digital skills shortage; on the night, using LEGO® as a fun, demonstrative tool, speakers will discuss the attributes of a great coder, and their passion for creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.
At the focus of the event is a talk from former LEGO® Education Head of UK Sales David Gregory – now Head of Innovation at JTRS, an organisation which works alongside LEGO® Education promoting digital transformation; “This event will be interactive, fun and insightful,” he explained.
“I’ll be helping delegates understand more about a tried and tested learning approach that uses LEGO® and electronics to ignite the creative and enquiring mindset common amongst most coders; it’s a tactic synonymous with the work that Code Nation are doing to promote tech skills in the Manchester region.”
Whilst with LEGO® Education, David supported over 50 organisations across the UK to create inspirational learning spaces incorporating LEGO® Education resources in the form of LEGO® Education Innovation Studios. David is also a certified LEGO Education Academy Trainer and a qualified Neuro-Linguistic-Programming practitioner and will bring his experiences into his talk on 6 September.
In his time at LEGO® Education and JTRS, David has helped implement the LEGO® Education based learning approach in hundreds of UK schools, colleges and universities helping students with their problem solving and critical thinking; schools are given schemes of work to help deliver the National Curriculum.
Andy Lord, founder and CEO of Code Nation added: “There is so much synergy between Code Nation and the work that David has done; we collectively want to fly the flag for more digitally skilled people, and critical thinkers who can help future proof the UK economy.
“There’s no underestimating the significance of digital, given that pretty much every industry’s transitioned to operating in the tech sphere and we need as many people as possible to train up and get involved. Events like these are perfect for spreading the word and I look forward to welcoming all of our guests on the night.”
Ben Morgan, who heads the AMRC’s Integrated Manufacturing Group concluded: “If the North is to lead the fourth industrial revolution it needs a new wave of talented digital engineers to make it happen. Using LEGO® as a fun yet challenging medium to stimulate, engage and inspire the next generation of software engineers, is a brilliant way to develop a more creative and digitally savvy workforce. We’ve been building things with LEGO® for decades: why not use it to build a better, digital future?”
