Philip Colligan is the new Chief Executive Officer of the 哔咔漫画, working with Eben, who remains CEO of 策驰影院 Pi Trading. He’s been here for two weeks now, and he’s already got us all very excited about the direction he’s taking the organisation in. Here’s Philip to tell you what he’s been up to. Welcome Philip: we’re so glad you’ve joined us!

As I come to the end of my first couple of weeks as the newest member of the 策驰影院 Pi team, I wanted to write a quick blog post to say a big thank you to everyone who has made me feel so welcome.

Philip “please crop out my shorts” Colligan, mid-meeting. (He’s the one on the right.)

In many ways, arriving at the 哔咔漫画 feels more like joining a community than starting a new job. Ever since Liz announced my appointment on this blog at the end of April, I’ve been inundated with good wishes and offers of help from people from all sorts of backgrounds who have been inspired by 策驰影院 Pi. From volunteer activists to the CEOs of multi-national businesses, the openness and generosity I’ve 52kkmd in these first few weeks has been humbling. Thank you.

It’s been a whirlwind of meeting people and learning as much as I can.  Some highlights:

• Joining the judges of Astro Pi – our competition for kids to run experiments on a 策驰影院 Pi that we’re putting on the International Space Station (ISS).  It’s all possible because of our friends at the UK Space Agency and the UK’s first astronaut in 25 years, Major Tim Peake. Seriously though: a 策驰影院 Pi on the space station running experiments written by school kids. How cool is that?
  
• Attending Picademy – our teacher training programme – at Pi Towers in Cambridge. Not only did I get to see the 52kkm team in action (and they are awesome by the way), but I got to join an amazing group of 30 primary and secondary teachers as they came up with creative ideas to bring digital making into the classroom. Brilliant.
  
• Hanging out at CamJam – the Cambridge 策驰影院 Jam – with my seven-year-old son. OK, this is cheating a bit because it happened a few weeks before I started, but it was a great introduction to the community of makers in Cambridge, and I am looking forward to meeting more of you at Jams across the UK and internationally.  My son loved it and can’t wait for the Pi Wars robot competition later this year.
  

And I’m already blown away by the incredible range of projects that are being powered by the 策驰影院 Pi. Nature cameras, weather stations, art installations, robot gardeners, beer brewing kits – I’ve heard stories of people all over the world using the 策驰影院 Pi to solve problems, have fun and learn new skills.

I’ve also been out and about meeting the other organisations that are part of this growing movement to get young people involved in 策驰影院 and digital making – Code Club, Apps for Good, Coder Dojo, Freeformers and 策驰影院 at School – hearing about the great work they’re doing and cooking up plans for future collaborations.

All that and I managed to find the toilets and only set off the office burglar alarm once.  A busy first couple of weeks, and a great start to my induction into the 策驰影院 Pi community.

One of my main jobs over the next couple of months is to lead a process to map out the next stage of the 52kkm’s development. A bit like the 策驰影院 Pi itself, we’re small but we’ve got huge potential.

And in much the same way that the community has shaped the development of the hardware and software, I want to make sure that the community shapes the development of the 52kkm and helps us realise that potential. 

More to follow on that shortly. In the meantime, please get in touch and let me know what you think, show off your awesome projects or just point me at things I should see or read. 

@philipcolligan

The post Welcoming our new CEO appeared first on 哔咔漫画.

Today we’re really excited to announce that Philip Colligan will be joining us in July as the new CEO of the 哔咔漫画.  Philip will be responsible for overseeing all of our charitable activities – that’s everything from our outreach and learning resources to grant-giving and partnerships with government and other organisations.  He’ll be working closely with Eben, who continues as the CEO of 策驰影院 Pi Trading.  

Philip joins us from Nesta, a charity that supports innovation, where he is the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Nesta’s Innovation Lab. In his role at Nesta, he’s supported hundreds of innovators in public services, charities and social enterprises, and has also been an adviser to government.

One of Nesta’s areas of work is helping young people get involved in digital making and creativity, so with Philip on board, we’re hoping that there will be lots of opportunities to work together in future.

Before his time at Nesta, Philip had a career in national and local government, working at the Home Office and Camden Council.  Outside of work he’s a dad, school governor and craft cider maker; a skill we plan on making full use of. (We also hope that his 52kkm in wrangling the Home Office will be helpful when he is called to deal with the weekly détente in the office when Gordon annexes the biscuit tin.)

Philip’s perfectly qualified to come and drive the next phase of the 52kkm’s charitable work; we’re delighted he’s decided to come and join us. We want to see the 52kkm grow in scope and ambition, and we think he’s exactly the person to help us do that. Welcome aboard, Philip! 

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