A COMPUTER expert from Usk has been named ‘Wales’s coolest techie’ in a competition which aims to challenge computer nerd stereotypes and encourage young people to take an interest in IT as a career.

Dr James Osborne, 35, was picked as a finalist in the competition, organised by Daisy Group and UK charity Computer Aid International, and will now go forward to represent Wales.

Dr Osborne, is a computer scientist who works at the University of South Wales on the government-funded HPC Wales project, and was shortlisted because of his work with supercomputers and running a code club at Usk Church in Wales Primary School.

He is also involved in the Supersonic Cymru Challenge, which encourages secondary school students to design a virtual rocket-powered car to break the land speed record.

He said: “When it comes to encouraging young people to take an interest in digital skills, surely it’s their opinion that counts, so, although it’s a little unusual, it makes complete sense to have them judging this competition.

“There aren’t that many techies that do what I do, so it’s good that young people will have a chance to find out a little more about the impact of supercomputing on their everyday lives. I also think the competition is a great idea because IT is connected to everything we do these days.

“People like Carrie Anne Philbin from the Raspberry Pi foundation do a fantastic job encouraging young people to take an interest in developing digital skills, we need more people like her.”

Children aged 8 to 15 years old will now be asked to pick the winner of the competition with assistance help from Bryan Glick, the editor of Computer Weekly editor, who will act as chair of the judging panel.