Edwina Dunn opens Birmingham frontier tech lab for youth

Edwina Dunn OBE has opened the Frontier Tech Lab at Millennium Point in Birmingham, part of the TechFirst youth programme for 11 to 18-year-olds.

The lab is designed to give young people hands-on exposure to six areas the government has identified as strategically important: artificial intelligence, quantum, engineering biology, cyber security, semiconductors and advanced connectivity.

The programme will serve young people from across the West Midlands Combined Authority area, as well as Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. It is being delivered by WM5G and Digital Innovators, with a focus on linking participants to employers and routes into technology careers.

Dunn is best known as the co-founder of dunnhumby and creator of Tesco Clubcard. She also founded The Female Lead, which aims to raise the visibility and aspirations of women and girls.

At the launch, 20 children from schools across the region took part in activities including 3D printing, meeting a humanoid robot called Ada Lovelace, exploring video carephones used in social care and developing digital twins.

The project is part of the wider TechFirst initiative, the UK government's digital and technology skills programme. In the West Midlands, it is being presented as a way to address the gap between a growing digital economy and uneven access to the skills needed to enter it.

Figures cited by the programme show more than 130,000 STEM vacancies and 13,500 digital vacancies nationally in 2022 because of skills shortages. In the West Midlands, more than half of residents are said to lack the essential digital skills needed for work, while the regional digital economy supports more than 140,000 jobs.

Hands-on learning

The lab is part of a broader model that introduces children to frontier technologies, builds practical subject knowledge through projects and employer-led challenges, and then points them towards apprenticeships, further education, higher education and work placements.

The aim is not only to reach pupils already interested in science and computing, but also those who may not usually consider technology as a career option, including young people from groups that remain under-represented in the sector.

At the opening, Dunn said: "I was excited to be asked to open the Frontier Tech Lab. It is so important that we create opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to interact with technology, not just as consumers but also as innovators and creators themselves. Data and technology are changing the world around us at an astonishing pace. They cross into every area of our lives, not just in labs and computer suites but in healthcare, sport, agriculture, emergency services, entertainment and transport, to name just a few.

"With that rapid expansion comes a wealth of career opportunities and a need for skilled workers, but the industry can often seem abstract or removed from day-to-day experiences. The Frontier Tech Lab is a wonderful resource that will provide crucial opportunities for young people across the region to experience technology firsthand, inspiring them to imagine a future in data and tech and creating pathways into rewarding, long-term careers."

Regional focus

WM5G, which is leading delivery with Digital Innovators, said local technology companies have already begun helping to shape the programme. Support for the launch came from Atos, BT Group, Cisco, CSR Group, CyberCy, Ohbot and Twindl.

Lesley Holt, Director of Adoption and Acceleration at WM5G, said the launch brought pupils into direct contact with businesses working in the field and was intended to make technology feel tangible rather than distant.

She said: "It was great to welcome children from schools across the region to meet local technology companies and experience these amazing innovations first-hand. The lab's goal is simple: to show young people that technology is not something happening elsewhere and that they can be part of creating it.

"We're delighted to have secured support from a range of technology companies that are already shaping delivery of the programme to meet local needs, but we are always keen to get more companies involved."

Digital Innovators Chief Executive Officer Mick Westman said a central objective is to widen participation. He said Dunn's involvement supports that effort because she can connect technology to everyday life for young audiences.

He said: "A key aim of the lab is to create opportunities for children who would not normally consider a career in technology, or who are from under-represented groups in the industry. Edwina Dunn OBE is a fantastic role model, someone who can bring data and technology to life in a really practical way and make it relevant to children's lives. I am sure she will have inspired many of today's attendees to begin exploring careers in the sector."