Maggie Philbin introduced a whole generation to the wonders of technology as a presenter on the BBC’s legendary Tomorrow’s World show in the 1980s. During her eight-year stint on the program, she demonstrated the mobile phone, in-car satellite navigation, digital photography and more, all for the first time on British television.
Since then, she has stayed very much involved in technology. She currently presents the BBC’s popular science show Bang Goes the Theory, and she works to inspire a whole new generation of technologists with the TeenTech initiative that she co-founded.
TeenTech inspires young people to consider careers in technology through events targeted at schools. It even partners teens with good ideas up with companies and organizations such as Airbus and NASA to help them develop their ideas under NDA.
At the Thinking Digital conference in Gateshead, UK this week, I caught up with Philbin to hear more about TeenTech and how the technology industry and TV producers alike should be doing more to encourage young people to look at a technology career. Oh, and is the time right for Tomorrow’s World to return?
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As a bonus, here she is discussing some new thing called digital photography on Tomorrow’s World in 1985:
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