E60 | An Audacious Vision - Hugh Williams

EdLeaders Australia

In this episode, we interviewed Hugh Williams, the Co-Founder of CS in Schools, an Australian charity that is creating sustainable change in digital technology education. In 2022, CS in Schools worked with 72 schools and 250 teachers to deliver world-class coding classes to over 30,000 students in Australia. They have some lofty ambitions to give every secondary school student in Australia the opportunity to learn digital technology. And all that is provided at zero cost to schools.

Hugh is also a Professor at the Melbourne Business School, an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University, and a board member of the State Library Victoria and Janet Clarke Hall. He is a company advisor and investor, and was formerly a vice president at Google and has also held senior roles at eBay and Microsoft. Through his advisory practice, he has worked with many companies including Doordash, Moonpig, ASOS, and Ocado. Hugh will touch on topics such as:

• How choosing Computer Science in university totally changed his life.
• Making sure students experience the opportunities available in digital technology.
• Barriers to providing quality digital technology learning experiences as highlighted by school leaders.
• Channeling his inner “Elon Musk’ when starting CS in Schools and how he managed to get the education industry’s trust.
• Skills that don’t come naturally to him in moments of vulnerability.
• Building his unique ambition and confidence over time and why more Australians need to be more audacious.
• Pre-conditions a school needs to have to ensure that their CS in Schools program is successful.
• Navigating the adoption challenges that come with their program being offered to schools for free.
• Support they’re getting from industry partners and donors.
• CS in Schools in the next 5 years and how they will impact Australian schools.

Hugh highlights audacity, passion, and a strategic mindset as the core pillars of his success and emphasizes that Australians have to adopt the same if Australia is going to emerge as a global player in developing innovative technologies. In his reflection on leadership, he says a leader should look at their team as the people they work side by side with, not as line reports. “You should focus all you efforts on how you can influence them to be better because the more successful you make them, the more successful you and your organization as a whole will be”, he says. Tune in for more of Hugh’s wisdom in leadership and how CS in Schools will positively impact the future of Australia.

You can connect with Hugh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hughewilliams/ ……………………

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