Meet the do your :bit judges
The do your :bit challenge is an annual competition that encourages children to find technological solutions to the issues their communities face. It brings together the BBC micro:bit and the UN’s Global Goals. This year, a panel of people with backgrounds in education and technology judged the competition.
Lady Mariéme Jamme
Lady Mariéme Jamme is an award-winning technologist and pioneer in system change. She is a businesswoman with over 20 years’ experience in technology. Lady Mariéme is renowned for her motivational and inspirational speeches on empowering girls through STEAMD subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts and design) and empowering youth in marginalised communities.
Artur Taevere
Artur Taevere is a Principal Consultant at the British Council, and an experienced educator and entrepreneur. In recent years, he has been supporting curriculum reform in Croatia and improving the quality of professional development for teachers and school leaders in Estonia. Previously, he was the Vice President of Teach For All, and the Founder and CEO of the Good Deed Foundation in Estonia.
Dr Ambily Banerjee
Ambily is a Director in Global Regulatory Affairs for GSK and joined the Foundation board in 2021. Following her PhD in Molecular Biology, Ambily worked in academia before moving to the pharmaceutical industry in 2007. She is an active advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, and is a board member for Slough Council for Voluntary Services.
Tony Ryan
Tony is CEO of the Design and Technology Association, an organisation supporting over 26,000 teachers in the UK. He joined the organisation in 2018 following a career as a secondary headteacher. Tony has been a trustee of ASDAN, was on the Education Steering Group for the Princes Teaching Institute, is a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts, a member of the IET, and is currently on several educational steering groups.
Dr Winnie Lam
Dr Winnie Lam is the Associate Head and Senior Lecturer of the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology at The Education University of Hong Kong. Her research interests are data analytics, robotics, bioinformatics and personalized learning. She is a dedicated IT educator and data scientist.
Darren Coyle
Darren Coyle MBE works as a Programme Director at the British Council. He leads a range of international education initiatives that focus on developing young people’s skills, knowledge, and experience to be prepared for life and work in a global economy. This includes the Connecting Classrooms initiative, through which schools in the UK and overseas have been trained and supported to use the micro:bit and enter the do your: bit challenge.
Richard Curtin
Richard has been involved in the global electronics industry for over 25 years, initially supporting automotive design and manufacturing before moving into the technology distribution and IoT (Internet of Things) sectors. Richard has worked with some of the world’s most disruptive technology companies to deliver innovative market strategies and product solutions. Richard is the co-founder of OKdo, a global technology company.
Alison Bellwood
Alison Bellwood is the creator and director of the World’s Largest Lesson. The World's Largest Lesson is a UN supported initiative to encourage children and young people to support the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Working in partnership with UN agencies, governments, NGOs and the private sector, they aim to reach children in every school in the world.
Gareth Stockdale
Gareth has been a board director since 2016 and was appointed CEO at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation in January 2018. As Head of Operations for BBC Education, Gareth was the joint project lead for the micro:bit project and led the process which culminated in the formation of the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. Prior to this, Gareth worked for Twofour, using digital media to enhance education and training.
Magda Wood
Magda joined the Micro:bit Educational Foundation as Chief of Learning in 2018. She has twenty years' experience working in education technology, devising, and creating award-winning digital products for teachers and students. Previously at the Times Educational Supplement (TES) Magda led the growth of the world's largest digital library of teacher-created lesson resources across more than twenty curriculum subjects. At micro:bit Magda works with teachers and education systems across the world to embed foundational computing into the school curriculum.
