Claire Garside

"Claire is co-founder of a charity that helps people to access digital career opportunities. She is curious about new technologies and how they can help everyone to make an impact. That's part of the mission of her foundation and it really ties in with ‘Explorer’ type. In order to make that happen, Claire needs to find ways to remove any barriers to learning, which means developing resources to give all adults and children the opportunity to learn new digital skills. This really demonstrates how Claire is the ‘Explorer’ type. Encouraging people to try new activities, particularly with new technologies, needs to be planned with consideration so empathy is at the heart of everything Claire and her foundation do, a really good trait for the ‘Manager’ type."

"Claire wants to advance the education of adults and children, and inspire future generations to create, invent and learn through digital making. She co-founded the charity ‘The Foundation for Digital Creativity’ which builds on activities to create opportunities for more people to access digital making activities, regardless of their skills, confidence or resources.Claire’s role is to provide leadership and develop the strategy needed to achieve the aims and mission of her foundation. Her responsibilities include overseeing educational activities, designing and evaluating workshop activities and online learning materials; and contributing to regional, national and international education and digital networks, and applying for grants. Claire also builds relationships with other learning organisations and stakeholders to increase participation in educational activities. Claire might be office-based and working on new projects, or she might be out delivering learning activities in schools, libraries or with business organisations or travelling to meet partners or attend conferences. The most exciting bit of Claire’s career so far has been joining a research team at Leeds University and looking at the impact of maker education in schools. This led Claire to take another step with her own development and she is now about to embark on a Doctorate in Education Research."

"Claire originally took a degree in Business and Information Technology and then worked as a secondary school teacher for 8 years. She started as a Technology subject specialist before moving to link with special educational needs. She then made a transition to working with school leaders and authorities, planning and delivering professional development programmes using educational technology in schools. Since leaving her last teaching role, and starting her own business, Claire has loved the opportunity to work across the UK with so many passionate educators, looking to use educational technology as a powerful learning tool."

"Family time is important to Claire, and she loves outdoor hikes and travel adventures. When it comes to 'me time', Claire has spent the last few years learning to ballroom dance and taking kick boxing exams!Claire regularly travels across the UK to meet people from other partner organisations and to deliver programmes and attend conferences. Over the last couple of years, she has also been fortunate to be asked to work and attend events overseas, including Europe and the USA.Opportunities for progression are vast for Claire since she works within a small team and with such a wide network. Her main consideration is deciding which direction she wants to take and planning for those next steps. In the future, Claire would love to be developing more programmes for everyone to access digital skills and make a difference to their own lives. In the close future that includes looking at air quality and supporting communities to make their own changes, and also looking at the impact on wellbeing through digital making programmes."