Why CS in Schools?
We created CS in Schools to help Australia create the next generation of technology workers and entrepreneurs. Our ambition is to help ensure that the 2,700+ secondary schools in Australia can give every student the opportunity to learn about digital technology and how it can change our lives for the better.
It’s not just about learning how to build digital technologies, it’s about meeting real job shortages by helping students become industry-ready. It is estimated there will be many hundreds of thousands of jobs in tech by the end of this decade. With only around 7,000 university-qualified IT graduates each year, we are not a path to fill those jobs, let alone create new and exciting companies.
We believe that students aren’t choosing IT programmes because many don’t get the opportunity to study engaging digital technology courses at school. We think it’s critical for Australia’s future that we address this problem. That’s where we come in.
Our Mission and Vision
Our mission is to build a stronger Australian economy by growing the digital workforce. We are doing that by focusing on our vision of Growing the pipeline of IT professionals by delivering world-class Digital Technology professional development and resources for teachers.
In 2023 we will work with over 200 schools and 500 teachers in every state in Australia to help them professional develop their digital technology skills, and in turn they are teaching over 50,000 students to code from Years 7 to 10. Next year, our goal is to double the size of the programme to 256 schools.
Our Founders
CS in Schools was founded in 2018 by Hugh Williams, Selina Williams, and Kristy Kendall. After researching how they could help Australia become the next technology hub, they settled on creating a programme to build capabilities in schools to grow the next generation of technologists. They launched CS in Schools in 2018, and in 2022 they supported 450 teachers and over 39,000 students to learn DigiTech at 153 schools.
Hugh is a former tech executive at Google, Microsoft, and eBay. He has a PhD in Computer Science.
Selina is a former corporate finance leader with Bachelors degrees in Information Systems and Finance.
Kristy is the Principal of Toorak College in Victoria, an independent girls’ school. She holds a Masters degree in Education.
Hugh Williams, Co-founder and inaugural CEO
Professor Hugh Williams is a Co-founder of CS in Schools
Our Industry partners
The unique advantage of CS in Schools is its deep links to industry. We work with industry partners to bring relevant content, real-world experiences, and role-modelling from professionals into the classroom. More than 60 industry volunteers have supported schools, teachers, and students in our programmes.
We are lucky to have the strong support of companies including Carsales, SEEK, TDM Growth Partners, Rokt, Xero, MessageMedia, Domain, and Xplor. We’re also fortunate to be able to draw on our industry connections and experience to bring real-world examples, content, and speakers to our programmes. We are always looking for new corporate partners, and encourage you to get in touch if you can help.
Shashank Kaul, CTO of Webjet and Volunteer
Shashank is the Chief Technology Officer of Webjet and volunteered in 2020 at Ivanhoe Grammar school as part of the school's Year 7 programme.
Our Schools
In 2023, we will work with more than 200 schools, 600 teachers, and over 50,000 Australia students. We work with schools in every Australian state and territory.
We work with the public, independent, and Catholic education sectors at the secondary level. We have a strong presence in regional areas. We have a bias towards addressing the gender balance problems in the IT sector, and have committed that each year more girl students experience our courses than boys. We also have a bias towards helping rural and regional Australia, and supporting disadvantaged schools.
We typically work with multiple teachers at a school, with schools placing as many as eleven teachers in our programmes.
If you’d like to be part of CS in Schools, we look forward to hearing from you.
Julian Choquette, Volunteer and Product Manager at Square
Julian is a Product Manager at payments company, Square.
He is pictured here volunteering in the classroom at Eltham High School in Victoria.
Our Donors and Supporters
CS in Schools is funded by philanthropic donations. We owe deep gratitude to the TDM Foundation, Leigh Jasper, Martin Hosking, Rob Phillpot, and Adam Lewis for their generous support of CS in Schools. Leigh and Martin have been generous donors each year since we began in 2018. The TDM Foundation is our major donor. We thank all of our supporters for their vision in helping us create a better digital future.
We operate under the auspices of the Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). ATSE is a charitable Deductible Gift Recipient Item 1, which is an advantageous status for donors who wish to donate from their private ancillary fund (PAF).
Funds are spent on curriculum development, community support, workshops, research, and other programme expenses. The founders and volunteers provide their time free of charge.
Leigh Jasper, Investor and former Aconex CEO
Leigh has been a generous supporter of CS in Schools since 2018. Leigh is pictured here speaking at our 2019 awards night.
More about our community
Our team
Learn more about the team behind CS in Schools, and how we’re working together to create a brighter digital future for Australia.
Our Community
Learn more about the community that supports CS in Schools, from schools to teachers to volunteers to industry partners.
Get involved!
If you’d like to be part of CS in Schools, we’d love to get you involved!