Preparing Every Student for an AI Future with Raspberry Pi Foundation | GSVtv Podcast

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “Preparing Every Student for an AI Future with Raspberry Pi Foundation”

Podcast: ASU+GSV Summit Sessions
Host: Tiffany Taylor (President, ASU+GSV Summit)
Guests: Philip Colligan (Raspberry Pi Foundation), Sophia Muhammad (Raspberry Pi Foundation)
Date: July 16, 2026
Location: ASU+GSV Summit, San Diego

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Episode Overview

This episode features a discussion with leaders from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Philip Colligan and Sophia Muhammad, about their mission to equip every student with essential computer science and AI skills. The conversation highlights the Foundation’s global expansion, recent arrival in the U.S., partnerships, the centrality of teachers in driving AI literacy, and the importance of providing free, accessible resources to all students and educators—regardless of background.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Mission and Expansion

Timestamps: [00:20]–[01:42]

• Global Impact and U.S. Launch:

  • Founded in Cambridge, UK, as a charitable foundation with a commercial arm (the Raspberry Pi computer).
  • The commercial company is now independent, having gone public on the London Stock Exchange, creating an endowment that funds their educational work.
  • The Foundation is committed to global access, now focusing on the United States with a dedicated 501(c)(3) and a team working across U.S. school districts.

• Commitment to Accessibility:

  • All resources for teachers, schools, and students are “completely for free. Not only for free now, but free forever.” – Philip Colligan [01:23]

2. Empowering Teachers: The Key to AI & CS Literacy

Timestamps: [01:55]–[04:34]

• Teacher Support is Fundamental:

  • Teachers need access to resources, professional development, and confidence-building to deliver AI and computer science education effectively.
  • "[E]very student, regardless of background, deserves to shape the age of AI—and it has to start with their teachers." – Sophia Muhammad [02:26]

• Teachers Learning Alongside Students:

  • Acknowledgement that most CS and AI classes are taught by teachers without degrees in those fields.
  • “Teachers are experts in pedagogy and supporting young people to learn... What we can do is provide them with the tools.” – Philip Colligan [03:53]
  • Teaching computer science shouldn't require a specialized degree, likened to how math and other subjects are taught by passionate non-specialists.

3. Teaching for the AI Future: Principles, Not Just Tools

Timestamps: [04:35]–[05:19]

• The focus is on foundational understanding, mindsets, and principles rather than training on specific current technologies:
  • “Kids in schools today, they’ll be interacting with technologies when they’re in the world of work that don’t exist yet… What we can teach them is about the underlying principles… Those things are durable. They will persist.” – Philip Colligan [05:03]

4. Power of Partnerships and Collaborative Ecosystems

Timestamps: [05:19]–[07:24]

• Collaboration Over Competition:

  • The Foundation partners with school systems, state and national networks like the CSTA, and other organizations to amplify their reach and impact.
  • “It’s actually smart for us to partner and to work together to impact as many people as possible instead of doing things in silos.” – Sophia Muhammad [06:08]
  • Partnerships provide expertise, localization, investment, and training; sometimes include direct financial support.

• Conference Value:

  • The ASU+GSV Summit is a unique opportunity for new partnerships: “That’s been one of the lovely things about the conference—I've already made like a dozen new connections and partners.” – Philip Colligan [07:14]

5. Looking Ahead: Energizing the Future of Computing Education

Timestamps: [07:44]–[08:44]

• Students’ Potential and Opportunity:

  • Sophia Muhammad is energized by students’ inherent creativity and capacity—students just need the opportunity and resources to thrive.

• Shift in Public Perception:

  • Colligan notes a critical shift: “I thought our mission was important three years ago… Now it really is the center of the conversation. And it's not just kids who identify as computer scientists… This is now relevant for all young people.”
  • The goal is making computer science “central to that conversation about how do we get CS across the curriculum… and how do we support all teachers.” – Philip Colligan [08:10]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Completely for free. Not only for free now, but free forever."
  — Philip Colligan on the Foundation’s commitment to accessibility [01:23]

• "Every student, regardless of background, deserves to shape the age of AI—and it has to start with their teachers."
  — Sophia Muhammad on teacher empowerment [02:26]

• “Teachers are learning alongside their students with technologies. And that’s exciting to see.”
  — Philip Colligan on continuous teacher learning [04:35]

• “Kids in schools today, they’ll be interacting with technologies when they’re in the world of work that don’t exist yet… What we can teach them is about the underlying principles … Those things are durable.”
  — Philip Colligan on the importance of foundational understanding [05:05]

• “It’s actually smart for us to partner and to work together to impact as many people as possible instead of doing things in silos.”
  — Sophia Muhammad on partnerships [06:08]

• “This is now relevant for all young people. And so the fact that, like, we're now central to that conversation about how do we get CS across the curriculum, how do we integrate it, and how do we support all teachers, and that's what I'm getting.”
  — Philip Colligan on the shifting significance of CS education [08:10]

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Timestamps: Key Segments

• 00:20–01:42 — Raspberry Pi Foundation’s story, free resources philosophy, U.S. launch
• 01:55–04:34 — Role of teachers, importance of professional development, supporting non-specialists
• 04:35–05:19 — Teaching foundational principles over specific tools
• 05:19–07:24 — Importance and nature of partnerships in scaling impact
• 07:44–08:44 — What energizes the guests about the future of CS/AI education

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Summary

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is making significant strides in democratizing computer science and AI education, fueled by strategic partnerships, free resources, and an unwavering belief in teachers’ central role. Their work is moving the conversation from niche interest to educational necessity for all students, ensuring young people are not just consumers but shapers of the AI-driven future. The episode underscores the crucial role of collaboration, adaptability, and optimism about the next generation’s capabilities.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, everyone. My name is Tiffany Taylor and I have the pleasure of serving as the President of the ASUGSB Summit. And I am so thrilled to be here with Philip Colligan and Sophia Muhammad of the Raspberry PI Foundation. Thanks so much for being here.

[B]

Thank you for having us.

[C]

It's great to be here.

[A]

So I have been telling everyone that I know about the Raspberry PI foundation and that they are now in the United States. States. And so I know I can't tell your story better than you can tell us a little bit about the Raspberry PI Foundation. PI foundation story and what it means for you all to be coming to the United States.

[C]

Well, I'll say a bit and then maybe you can chip in on our work in the US So we are a charitable foundation. We started Life in the UK in Cambridge. But we're on a mission to be a global organization. And what we're trying to do is enable all young people to learn about computer science and AI technology so they can take good choices about integrating it into their lives. Yeah. And we started as a charity. We built a commercial company that brought a product, the Raspberry PI computer, to market. And that company is now independent. We listed it on the London Stock Exchange a couple of years ago. And that means we have a little endowment that we use to support our work. And it enables us to offer everything that we do completely for free for teachers, for schools for younger.

[A]

Can you say that one more time?

[C]

Completely, for, completely for free. Not only for free now, but free forever. Free forever. We believe that all young people deserve to have access to a high quality computer science and AI learning experience. But we think the only way we can make that for all young people is if we do it at zero cost.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I love it.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

And we have a 501C3 here in the US and I lead a team of educators and community managers, and we work with school districts all over the country to help young people have a foundational understanding of computer science and AI.

[A]

Yeah. So you have been at the ASU GSB Summit for this past week. I know you've been in tons of conversations with educators. I know you've been to tons of conversations with some of your peers at foundations, and you've been in conversations about just the emerging technology that is impacting learning in a variety of ways. As you think about the work right now, what feels most important when it comes to ensuring students not only have access, but but that they're actually prepared to participate and lead in A tech driven future.

[B]

I could take a stab at that. I think giving teachers the opportunity to have the classroom resources, the teaching resources, the professional development to gain the skills, the confidence and the resources to give these type of learning opportunities for students is going to be key. Every student, regardless of background, deserves to shape the age of AI and, and it has to start with their teachers.

[A]

I love it. I love it. So you and I both started our careers as classroom teachers. Yes. Right. And I love that you started your response with the importance of teachers understanding that they have a role to play.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I wasn't a computer science major. Like what does it mean for a non technical teacher? Right. No matter how they describe themselves, to actually step in and support their students and store their experience in a way that they can fully take advantage of the resources that you all have to offer.

[B]

I mean, I am also not a computer science teacher and I think that we have, we've already done that in other contents. For example, I was not, I was a math teacher in, when I was in schools, but I was not even

[A]

a math major either. Right.

[B]

So teachers are already teaching content that they did not study in college or in their lives. So we need to treat computing and AI literacy the same way.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And look, we work all over the world and I can tell you that statistically, every computer science and AI lesson taught now and forever is taught by a teacher without a degree in the subject. There's a tiny number of teachers who do have CS backgrounds, but it's a tiny number. And so teachers are experts in pedagogy and supporting young people to learn. What we do. And what we've been trying to figure out over the last decade and more is how we can give them the curriculum and the resources and the professional development, the subject knowledge they need to support their students to learn. But we've got teachers. They know what's best for their students. What they need is organizations like us to provide them with the tools.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

Resources they, they, they need. And the other thing I would say is that like, teachers are learning alongside their students with technologies. And that's exciting to see. And it's not about teaching either students or teachers about the AI tools of today. It's about giving them a foundational understanding of how these technologies are built and the mindsets that enable them to deal with technological change. One thing I know for sure is kids in schools today, they'll be interacting with technologies when they're in the world of work that don't exist yet.

[B]

That's Right.

[C]

So we can't teach them about those.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

What we can teach them is about the underlying principles and the foundational knowledge about how these technologies are built, the role that data plays, the limitations that you have when you're designing these systems. Those things are durable. They will persist.

[A]

That's right. So I remember the very first conversation we had. We were at a Ties ecosystems convening in D.C. and I talked to you about something that is like core and foundational to me. And that's just the power of partnership. My deep belief is that nothing gets done alone, not one single organization, not one individual. And I remember you nodding in the same way. How are you really thinking about partnerships as you start to translate some of the work that you've been leading around the world to the States?

[B]

Well, we already partner with school systems and national and state level networks like the CSTA to support teacher professional development. Right. So we know that we can't do it by ourselves. And there are already so many great organizations that have been doing incredible work for years. And it's actually like smart for us to partner and to work together to impact as many people as possible instead of doing things in silos and potentially not impact enough people at all. So partnerships are really key to our way of working in the US and of course globally for sure.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. And it's, you know, as Sophia said, it's absolutely core to our partnership is stress Jaffa. And what we're looking for, and I've met so many here actually, is organizations who are already in communities, who are working with, whether it's schools or youth and community organizations. And what we can bring to that partnership is some expertise around CS and AI, a genuinely collaborative approach to localizing those learning experiences for their young people, an investment in those organizations. Sometimes that's human capture, so it's training, but often it's about money too. And so we have some of our own money, but we also work with partners like Google Wall and we find networks of organizations that we can put some cash into because, you know, if you want to meet teachers, you need to put some money out of that

[B]

system to get them out of the class.

[C]

You should be open about that. And yeah, so partnership is absolutely cool. But that's been one of the lovely things about the conference is I've already made like a dozen new connections and partners that will work with you.

[A]

Yeah, well, that's what we love to hear. We consider ourselves conveners, connectors here at the summit. And so I want to close out with one Question with you all looking ahead, when you think about the future of computing education and AI literacy, like, what is the thing that is giving you the most energy? And I'll start with you, Sofia, and then, Philip, you can close this out.

[B]

What gives me more energy? Most energy is I know that our students are capable.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And they have the creativity, they have the skills, the knowledge within them is that they need the opportunity and the resources to display that. And really excited about being part of the Raspberry PI foundation, but also being able to partner with so many great organizations that I met here at the summit to be able to do that.

[A]

Hello? Yeah. All right.

[C]

Well, for me, I thought our mission was important. Three years ago, Right. I said to everyone, computer science is foundational. All young people should learn it. Now it really is the center of the conversation. And it's not just kids who identify as computer scientists and engineers, which are a really important group. And I want that group to grow. This is now relevant for all young people. And so the fact that, like, we're now central to that conversation about how do we get CS across the curriculum, how do we integrate it, and how do we support all teachers, and that's what I'm getting.

[A]

I love it. I love it. Well, one, thank you so much for being a partner to us here at gsb, but also thank you so much for leading with so much intentionality around what you're bringing to the states and what you're bringing to communities around the country and the work you continue to do around the world. So thank you today, and thanks for the folks.

[C]

Thank you. All right.