Bringing Learning to Life Through Industry Engagement at Apps for Good

At the end of last year, we gave students from Boroughmuir High School the opportunity to meet with Dom Raban, CEO and Founder of Xploro. We connected the students with Dom as their prototype app, Childemic, shared a clear purpose with Xploro, using technology for good to support children and young people in hospital.

Childemic was created by Izzy, Edie and Amber as part of their Apps for Good course. The app aims to make learning easier for children in hospital by helping them stay connected to their education through games and quizzes. Xploro is similarly focused on improving experiences for young patients, aiming to reduce anxiety through interactive and engaging educational content. Bringing students together with an industry leader working in a related field helped bring their learning to life and showed them the real-world relevance of their ideas.

As finalists in our 2025 Showcase, the students were well prepared to put their communication skills into practice during their interview with Dom. Together, they explored how technology has shaped the world over the past 15 years, reflecting on both its benefits and its challenges. Dom shared his perspective on the pace of change, saying that he believed “there have been lots and lots of changes for the better but I have to say there have been some changes for the worse as well” and that “sometimes advances in technology can create undesirable outcomes.”

The conversation moved on to how education can prepare young people for future careers in tech, and why it is vital that students from all backgrounds are given the skills and opportunities to shape their futures through technology.

“In eight or nine years' time when you enter the jobs market, the technologies that are around then will be things that we’re only dreaming about now…and whatever happens in the future, whatever happens in eight, nine years time, computers will be an essential and very important part of everyday life…”

The discussion highlighted the importance of equity, digital skills and supporting the next generation to use tech for good. For students, hearing directly from someone working in tech helped ground these big ideas in reality, and reinforce the importance of using technology with purpose.

"We live, I believe, in a society which is still very unequal and people from different backgrounds don’t have access to the same opportunities… so it’s fundamentally important that we work toward making it more equitable to everyone."

Dom also turned the table on the students and asked them some questions of his own, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their Apps for Good project and the skills they learnt. They discussed how they developed their idea through iteration and collaboration, and how working as a team helped strengthen their final concept.

“It taught us to work close together…when we put [our ideas] together we came up with a good idea.”

During the conversation they explored how we can encourage more girls to engage with technology. The students discussed the value of highlighting the creative and problem-solving aspects of tech, rather than focusing solely on coding, and the importance of being exposed to positive female role models in tech.

"We think that schools should rebrand it as creative and problem-solving orientated rather than just coding because I think that would really show girls, and boys, that it’s really about your creativity and it’s really fun when you put your mind to it."

This inspiring exchange is a great example of how Industry Engagement at Apps for Good helps young people build confidence, strengthen communication skills, and gain meaningful insights into real careers in technology. By connecting students with industry professionals, we help bring learning to life and support young people to see themselves as the problem-solvers, innovators and changemakers of the future.

We're excited to offer Industry Engagement as part of all our courses through virtual sessions that bring real-world expertise straight into the classroom. Visit our courses page to find out more.

See Industry Engagement in action and watch more from the interview in our short edits here and here.