Preparing young people for frontier technologies: Our new partnership with the UK government

Around the world, governments are grappling with the same question: how do you prepare young people for careers shaped by emerging technologies? In the UK, part of the answer is TechFirst, and we’re proud to be playing a central role in it.

Through the new TechFirst partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), we are expanding Ada Computer Science, the free computing education platform we have built with the University of Cambridge for UK students and teachers. It’s one of the ways the UK government plans to bring frontier tech education to a million secondary students (11- to 18-year-olds) over the next three years.

What’s happening in the UK

TechFirst is the UK government’s £187 million tech skills initiative, designed to open up pathways into the country’s tech sector. It supports people at every stage, from students in school to university researchers and career changers.

Backed by major tech employers, the programme focuses on six frontier technologies: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, engineering biology, semiconductors, and advanced connectivity technologies.

Ada Computer Science sits at the heart of TechFirst’s schools strand. With DCMS funding, we’re adding new content and features to the platform, and everything stays completely free.

For the first time, Ada Computer Science now covers ages 11 to 19, with new teaching and learning materials for 11- to 14-year-olds added alongside everything we already offer for ages 14 to 19. Thanks to the new materials, students can start exploring computing and frontier technologies earlier, and build on that learning all the way through to the end of secondary education.

Alongside the expansion of the Ada CS platform, DCMS is funding Regional Delivery Partners to bring hands-on technology activities into secondary schools across the UK, giving students practical experience and a real sense of where a tech career could take them.

Beyond the economic opportunities that understanding frontier technologies opens up for young people, gaining this knowledge and skills helps young people have agency and power in a world where technology plays an ever greater role in their lives.

We are pleased to offer the new frontier technologies materials, like all our teaching and learning resources, at no cost to teachers and students. This is one way in which we support equal access to a high-quality computing and AI education for all young people.

What’s coming next

We will add new content and features to Ada CS in phases, including:

• Learning content on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, engineering biology, semiconductors, and advanced connectivity technologies
• Learning content designed specifically for 11- to 14-year-olds, covering a wide range of computing topics and building digital literacy
• Interactive student challenges and self-paced projects
• Careers content, including real-life case studies
• Links to workshops, events, and activities run by Regional Delivery Partners

Find out more

If you’re a teacher or student in the UK, you can explore the first TechFirst content release on the Ada Computer Science website. Create a free account to be first to hear about the new content and features.

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