THOUGHTSMITH - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Technologist
• Interactive Media Technologist

Dan is a technologist with over 20 years' experience of designing and building interactive services for a range of mainly public sector organisations. He has been the technical lead for successful multi-million pound interactive media projects for BBC Education Online, the DCMS Culture Online programme and NESTA Futurelab. He has helped many organisations, including the BBC, DCMS, Woodland Trust and UK Parliament make senior technical appointments and has been closely involved in the procurement of complex technical services for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Dan trained as both a software and mechanical engineer. He studied engineering at Warwick University, Computer Science at Cambridge and researched wind turbine aerodynamics at Imperial College. In the pre-web world Dan developed interactive learning resources for the Open University. He went on to become the founding technologist at BBC Education Online where he recruited and managed a team of 20 programmers and webmasters. He wrote the software for the BBC's first live web chat and led the technical development of some of the BBC's most popular websites. He was Director of Technology at NESTA Futurelab, a think and do tank set up by NESTA to research the potential impact of technology on education. Later Dan became the lead technologist for the DCMS's Culture Online project. Dan is an interactive media technologist with over 20 years' experience designing and building interactive services.

Job Titles:

• Freelance Consultant
• Interactive Media Consultant

Dominic is an interactive media innovator with 20 years' experience working across web, mobile and interactive TV projects in the areas of culture, education and society. He provides strategic advice and practical assistance on how new media technologies can be used to engage audiences as well as how to manage digital projects most effectively. Dominic joined the BBC in 1997 as one of their first web producers. In 2000 he became Managing Editor of Channel 4's education website where he commissioned some of the first UK online media projects for pre-school, primary school and secondary school audiences. As a freelance consultant Dominic set up the first broadband video on demand service in the UK for Discovery Channel and developed some of the earliest location-aware mobile content services for the BBC. As a Development Producer on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Culture Online programme he led projects including My Art Space (early use of mobile phones in galleries and museums) and the award-winning SoundJunction (music education website). From 2005 to 2008 Dominic was Head of Online for the Houses of Parliament where he commissioned a major redesign of the UK Parliament website and managed the rollout of Parliament's first engagement with social media through channels on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. Recently Dominic helped set up and then mentored fellows on the Arts Marketing Association's Digital Marketing Academy programme. He is currently advising BBC Research & Development on collaborative innovation projects including work to explore the next generation of interactive video services. Dom is an interactive media consultant who provides strategic advice and practical assistance on new media technologies.

Job Titles:

• Chairman of the Board of Governors of Ravensbourne

Jon works with the boards of national arts and science bodies on creative, technical and business strategy to engage new audiences. Jon is Chairman of the Board of Governors of Ravensbourne, the digitally focused design and fashion college. He also Chairs the UK Parliament's Advisory Council on Public Engagement, the Wingate Foundation and RBG Kew Enterprises, which is the commercial trading arm of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Jon is a Trustee of The Internet Watch Foundation, The Woodland Trust, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Wildscreen. He is Visiting Industrial Professor at Bristol University specialising in the role of technology in learning and is a Fellow of The Linnean Society, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Royal Television Society and a full voting member of BAFTA. He is a frequent public-speaker on science, technology and new media, with several TED talks online. Previously, Jon was with the UK Government as Director of Culture Online - a programme to bring culture and the arts to new audiences using new techniques, which won 27 major international awards including three Baftas, a Webby and the UN World eLearning Award, as well as special citation from the National Audit Office for exemplary management of risk and innovation. Before that Jon was Head of Commissioning for BBC Online. As a Director and Executive Producer he was responsible for many popular BBC science and arts television series. He was made CBE in 2006.

Mike is an award-winning content expert in radio, TV and online, specialising in arts, science and education.