Kevin Burke
Job Title: Technical Education Policy Lead
Company you work for: Department for Education
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An Astronaut or Pilot.
What is the biggest impact your work will or could have in the future?
We will hopefully enable the engineers of the future to have the skills they need to make space travel much more accessible for all.
What excites you most about STEM?
Our lives are increasingly linked to STEM – it’s all around us - and it’s great to be a part of this.
What or who inspired you to do your job, and what do you love most about it?
I was inspired by a number of things but seeing a Concorde take off and seeing the first moon landing are stand out moments for me! I really enjoy exploring new technologies and working in teams of fantastically talented engineers.
How might your role work in space, sport or on the Moon in the future?
We are going to need some very special technology to make sport on the Moon work, and my teams will help to train and give future 'Moon Football' engineers the skills they need.
What do you think the future for humans in space looks like?
There is a huge potential for business and industry in space - we need affordable, easy, and safe ways to get to and from space, and to create the working environments as well. Engineers will be the ones to make this all possible and it’s going to be fantastic.
Would you like to play football on the Moon one day and why?
Yes, but it’s going to be a very different game - the size of the pitch (no grass of course), plus the speed of the ball and players. I would want to play in goal - with a rocket pack on my back!
How does the work you do now link to our Moon United campaign to play football in the future?Working in Technical Education, we need to be aware of all the future technologies and how we could train future engineers to build and maintain these.
What were your favourite subjects at school and why?
Physics (the nearest thing to engineering) and Technical Drawing (understanding how to represent complex objects in 2D and 3D).
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in STEM?
There are so many different opportunities in STEM, and unless you really know what you want to do from an early age, try to keep your options open as wide as possible.