Famous People in IT/Tech to Inspire Secondary School Students

Most secondary school students are technology-obsessed. They use their mobiles more than any other generation, spending hours on social media each and every day. But few consider a career in IT or technology, particularly female students.

If you are teaching computing to teenagers, it’s important to engage people of abilities and backgrounds. Our PGCE Computing with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) course will give you the tools and qualifications to do this. But to truly inspire them, you need to get them thinking about their future, and role models can be a great way of doing this.

Here are some famous people in IT/tech who could be the perfect role models to inspire young tech stars.

Mark Zuckerberg

Being the founder of the biggest social media platform in the world makes Mark Zuckerberg an inspiration for anyone who has big ideas at a young age. He started his career at university, where he developed the beta version of Facebook.

Sheryl Sandberg

Although Mark Zuckerberg is the face of the brand, Sheryl Sandberg is known to be a powerhouse behind the platform. She is Facebook’s chief operating officer (COO) and has a net worth of around £1.3 billion.

Steve Jobs

Not only was the late Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple Inc., but he was respected around the world. Coming from a humble family, he proved that hard work was the most important factor for anyone with ambitions in IT. His net worth was over £7.8 billion at the time of his death.

Virginia Rometty

If you want to get more female students interested in IT, a great role model is Virginia Rometty of IBM. She is the first woman to ever lead the company and also serves on the committee of the most powerful business schools in America.

Radia Perlman

Another female figure in technology is Radia Perlman, otherwise known as “The Mother of The Internet”. Her invention of the algorithm behind the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) made the internet possible. She put the basic rules of internet traffic in place, and is one of the most significant and famous tech people in the world.

As well as inspiring students, it’s also important to tailor your teaching style and use a range of strategies to engage them. At the University of Bolton, we cover methods of modern pedagogy, helping you turn theory into practice.

To find out more about getting a PGCE in Computing, go to our course page for full details. We offer a supportive and friendly learning environment, with one-to-one mentoring and an informal approach to teaching. We know all of our students by name and not by their student ID, and our award-winning student services team will look after you during your time here.

Come and study at the university that puts you and your needs first; welcome to #UniAsItShouldBe at the University of Bolton.