Aftab Ahmed

CIO at Alpha Schools

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

I am the recently appointed Chief Information Officer for Alpha Schools. I am proud to be working for an organisation that focuses in making a change to pupils lives by delivery of high quality education services where we manage central services for independent schools located around the UK.

What has your journey to your position been like? What path have you taken?

My career path started off in engineering where I was looking to pursue electrical engineering, however with many businesses relocating to Europe, I decided to shift my focus to the world of IT.

I started my journey with Unisys in developing computer-based training systems for the MOD and then to a learning company called PLATO where I developed training systems for pilots for commercial airlines and the Singapore airforce – I learnt so much about aircraft which was very interesting.

I then decided to broaden my IT knowledge as I didn’t want to be seen as a programmer and therefore worked for small to medium businesses in managing IT systems.

Moving into the dot-com era, I worked for a business which had investment backing from Inmarsat where I managed and built corporate IT for the start-up to a global scale.

With the dot com bubble burst, I moved into education where I managed IT for one of the top independent schools within the UK where myself and the Director built the school as a Centre of excellence which was a great learning experience.

From one of the top schools, I moved to one of the most challenging schools with the Academy programme which had been launched by government. During this period, I led and implemented some innovative solutions that made a real difference to education which included: Building a digital radio station – which helped pupils’ confidence in public speaking. Built the UK’s first Lego Education Centre – which helped STEM subjects as well as personalised learning and thinking skills.

Implemented anytime anywhere learning using VMWare which was non-existent in other schools at the time.

My journey then led to a Multi Academy Trust where I took failing IT systems with poor support to deliver outstanding systems and services. I rebuilt the entire infrastructure from the ground up which incorporated wired, wireless, VOIP and also moved the school to Google Education which was a real game changer from the way I integrated everything.

During COVID this helped us to be a step ahead where teaching and learning was delivered effectively from deployment of devices and staff already comfortable in using tech.

Due to my abilities of strategic leadership, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer where I took on other functions from Finance, HR, Estates, Compliance, IT and Administration services and built excellence in all areas. I also led and project managed a brand new £14m school build where I designed infrastructure and estates solutions which the Department of Education commended very highly from the first time they had seen someone undertake this in the way that I had.

I now am working for Alpha where I am the CIO for independent schools around the UK with a focus is to make a real difference to those schools.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

My vision has simply been to make a difference to lives and I achieved this by implementing real innovation through tech.

I always had an interest in using tech to make a difference to businesses and it just so happened that I was good at what I did and allowed me to develop as s tech leader.

Some people say that I should have broadcasted my journey more when I brought Lego Education into UK by building the first centre – however, my take has always been to focus on building something to make a difference to pupils lives in learning.

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey?

My journey had not been an easy one, with many ups and downs along the pathway. I never had any mentors or role models, but I saw the struggles of my family through some very tough times which helped me with the drive and passion to succeed.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

Technology is never at a stand-still. There is always something new and challenging that comes out to the market place. Working within the Education sector – I have seen many different trends over the years, with the latest being AI and machine learning in robotics.

I think as tech becomes smarter, so will the expectations of the tech leader to be on-top of this type of technology.

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

It isn’t just about tech skills anymore but people management which is essential for future leaders. Having the knowledge to build people and teams with effective outcomes for the business is needed at a time when we are seeing a lot more cases of stress and mental health following COVID.

How do you keep current with new skills, technologies and personal development?

I have a passion of self learning and connecting on lots of forums where experts share knowledge and experiences. This has been a key area for me when it comes to learning and development.

Academia is also really important, where I have 3 Level 7 (Masters) level qualifications, 2 Level 6 (Bachelors) level qualification which has been great for my journey. I would say that undertaking a MBA gave me valuable skills and knowledge in building business knowledge.

What do you see as the next leap in technology that will impact your business or industry in particular?

Within tech education sector it will be about AI where tech gets smarter and so will the need to redefine educational learning programmes to adapt to this.

“Never give up, learn and develop your knowledge along the pathway.”

If you were mentoring a leader of the future, what advice or guidance would you give to help them on their way?

Never give up, learn and develop your knowledge along the pathway. Use forums and other experts who have tried and tested solutions to see what things have failed in the past and how solutions have been built.

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

I would like to at some stage undertake a PHD, however this is way off at the moment. I would like to build a school in an under-developed country and implement solutions that will make a huge difference to lives through education.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

Just to have a greater appreciation in life and to tackle poverty.

A big thank you to Aftab Ahmed from Alpha Schools for sharing his journey to date.