Tech Foundations (Schools) Working Group

Steve works for STEM Learning where he leads the DfE funded National Centre for Computing Education and shapes the organisation's strategy for teacher professional development. He was a computing teacher and leader for more than a decade and spent several years as a computing curriculum consultant and online safety advisor for Babcock Education in Surrey and Devon. In this role, Steve supported many schools through the transition from ICT to computing, advising leaders on whole-school IT strategy, and helping them to adopt transformative technology.

Vanessa Soames is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the digital skills landscape. She has held key roles at KPMG Barclays and Cognizant, where she has been responsible for the recruitment and development of graduates, interns, and apprentices in digital skills. As Social Value Director at Cognizant, Vanessa supports public sector clients in skilling underrepresented groups and designing initiatives to match their priorities. She has championed regional skills initiatives, including the Cognizant Women’s in Technology Leadership masters programme and localised technology training bootcamps. Vanessa has driven tangible outcomes through award-winning programmes for early talent and apprenticeships. Her work with stakeholders and industry-led projects has been recognized, and she has been shortlisted for Creating Capability in Digital Skills at the Social Value awards 2024. Vanessa's commitment to promoting accessible training and guiding the development of emerging technologies is evident in her work.

About the company : The Metaverse Institute (MI) is made up of a group of leading pioneers and thought leaders in the Metaverse, artificial intelligence, smart cities, and related technologies. We work closely with intergovernmental organisations, governments, big corporates and institutional investors to assist them to use latest technologies to improve real world.. Current responsibilities: As CEO I oversee all aspects of the company and I am responsible for developing the company strategy and its execution.. Current involvement with techUK: I sit on the Digital Twins Steering Board. I have a long history working with TechUK since 2010. Then I was elected as the first Chinese elected to National Union of Students(NUS) UK since 1922. I was representing 1 million international and EU students study at 600 higher education and further education institutions in Britain. Work with CBI, TechUK, Universities UK, MPs & Lords (especially BIS Secretary Vince Cable, University Minister David Willetts), 10+ Ambassadors to the UK, media, trade unions, think tanks on a successful campaign between 2010-2012. We produced a toolkit for 600 Students Unions to work with University/college presidents to lobby their local MPs/Lords, achieved a record-breaking 31,000 responses to a UK government public consultation in two months, had questions being asked at key parliamentary committees, the Prime Minister’s Question Time, relevant All Party Parliamentary Groups, and generated much media coverage in the UK and globally. We successfully lobbied Theresa May to cancel 10 policies, postponed the Post Study Work Visa cancelation by 1 year, created Graduate Entrepreneur Visa. I was also interviewed for a Director of Policy job by TechUK in 2017. What are your reasons for wanting to be a techUK Director and what could you bring to the techUK Main Board? I have a wealth of expertise to deliver the top priorities in areas highlighted by the latest TechUK membership survey by SME:

As Head of K12 Education for Canva in EMEA, I work with governments across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to support digital learning transformation and the development of innovative education programs. My collaborations span diverse regions, including Slovenia, Poland, Oman, Kazakhstan, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, ensuring technology enhances learning outcomes at scale. With over a decade in EdTech leadership, business development, and policy engagement, I have successfully driven education technology adoption in schools and government institutions. My experience includes senior roles at Zzish, itslearning, and Smoothwall, where I spearheaded strategic initiatives to improve accessibility, online safety, student engagement, and digital assessment tools. I am passionate about bridging the gap between policy and implementation, ensuring technology drives meaningful change in education. As a Council Member, I would bring a strategic, policy-driven perspective to support techUK’s Education & EdTech Programme.

I have dedicated my career to the EdTech sector, supporting educational institutions in leveraging technology to enhance student outcomes, empower teachers, and assist leaders in making informed decisions about classroom technologies. Currently, I lead CDW’s global education business, providing solutions across five continents and over forty countries, positively impacting millions of students. Backed by a team of education strategists and technologists, and partnering with the world’s largest technology providers—often as their top partner—I offer a comprehensive perspective on Education Technology across Higher Education and Schools, ensuring tangible results for our customers and partners.

Alastair Williamson-Pound is Chief Technology Officer at Mercator Digital, a UK-based consultancy specialising in digital transformation, AI, and public sector innovation. With over 20 years’ experience spanning government, education, and commercial sectors, Alastair has delivered high-impact programmes for HMRC, the Government Digital Service, and six UK universities. He has secured over £200M in digital delivery contracts and scaled consultancy operations by over 150%, spearheading the expansion into cloud, cyber, and AI services. Alastair is passionate about using technology to improve lives, break down barriers to access, and drive sustainable public service outcomes. A Digital MBA graduate, he combines strategic leadership with hands-on product delivery expertise. He is eager to contribute to TechUK’s mission and support innovation that enhances the quality, inclusivity, and effectiveness of UK education.

Paul McKean is the Director of further education, skills and training at Jisc. Paul provides Jisc with strategic direction around its work in Further Education and Skills (FES). He works with colleagues across Jisc, funders from the four nations, sector bodies and learning providers, to ensure Jisc helps its members and their staff, utilise digital, data and technology. In addition, Paul leads the training team which supports FE and skills, HE and research members with their digital, data and technology CPD needs. While Paul has been an Association of Colleges Beacon award assessor for eleven years. Paul was a returner learner, himself digitally excluded, who retrained in multimedia and web design, as a mature student. He became a FE lecturer, then FE manager. While at Bolton College, Paul wrote the college and council’s first e-learning strategies and led on a number of digital innovation projects including the development of the Maths Everywhere adult numeracy app, an ICT for communities project which included the development of Bolton Revisited and the first use of mobile learning in FE. He also set up the first FE TeachMeet. Paul joined Jisc in 2014 and was responsible for their first FE and skills strategy and he has been leading the development of Jisc’s Digital Elevation Tool, an e-maturity self-assessment tool for FE providers.