Million dollar academic headlines Dynamo 14

Visionary educationalist Professor Sugata Mitra – celebrated winner of the $1 million TED Prize for his pioneering use of technology to educate children – is the latest headline speaker to be confirmed at Dynamo 14.

The Newcastle University academic will address scores of business leaders at the event in Newcastle’s Civic Centre on May 1, heralding the vibrancy of the North East’s IT sector.

Prof Mitra first secured global attention back in 1999 with his ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiment, placing a free computer in a Delhi slum which street children rapidly taught themselves to use with no tuition.

His ‘minimally invasive education’ experiment based on his conviction that all children can teach themselves new skills if left to freely use technology, underpinned his latest award-winning work ‘School in the Cloud.’

His vision to build a virtual school where children could ask questions and explore the answers themselves using the vast resources online landed him the prestigious TED Prize 2013.

The $1m he won is the seed money used to create seven learning labs in India and the UK, including George Stephenson High School in Killingworth and Greenfield Community College in Newton Aycliffe.

Prof Mitra will share his vision at the inaugural Dynamo 14 with IT organisations and employers, technology hubs, education, local government and employer support initiatives.

The IT sector’s combined might has been brought together by business leaders under the banner of Dynamo North East – a new organisation to lead regional IT development.

It is working to nurture and develop the industry’s future young talent, reaching out to schoolchildren through code clubs and creating new apprenticeship programmes. Collaborative R & D among regional firms and better promoting the sector to audiences outside the region also top their agenda.

Charlie Hoult, who runs Hoults Yard in Newcastle and is Dynamo’s chairman, said: “Prof Mitra’s work is celebrated worldwide for the innovative way it reaches out to children of all backgrounds.

“Dynamo 14 is centred around innovate, collaborate and grow and Prof Mitra’s pioneering use of technology with young people who will lead future economic growth cuts to the very heart of what we as an IT community are trying to achieve.”

Prof Mitra’s ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiment has left its mark on popular culture. Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup read about his experiment and was inspired to write his debut novel that went on to become the Oscar winning movie of 2009 – ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

The TED Prize is awarded annually to an extraordinary individual with a bold vision to spark global change. TED began back in 1984 as a conference devoted to promoting technology, entertainment and design and now has a global profile tackling some of the world’s major challenges such as global health and child obesity.

Dynamo 14 has attracted a total of 50 top speakers and 200 delegates to the city’s civic centre.

Respected BBC business and technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones will give the keynote speech at the Dynamo 14 conference.

Dynamo was founded by IT investor and entrepreneur Charlie Hoult, Accenture’s North East managing director Bob Paton, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Digital Institute at Newcastle University Paul Watson, director of Orchard Information Systems John Hunt, CEO of Opencast Software Mike O’Brien, CTO of Sage UK Stuart Lynn and director of MI-Case Anthony McMenzie, to act as a focal point for the region’s IT growth.

Further Dynamo 14 speakers and a full range of workshops and presentations will be announced nearer to the conference. For more information please visit www.dynamonortheast.co.uk or to book your place, please visit http://dynamo14.eventbrite.co.uk.