Every week we bring you a quick six-minute, six-question interview with a member of the Kano team.
Showcasing some great skills, sharing interesting stories, and allowing you the chance to learn who is behind the magic.
What is your name and job title?
Ollie Dotsch, Senior EDU Account Manager (Which means my job is to get Kano into the hands of and empower, as many students and teachers as possible!)
How did you get to Kano?
I’ve always worked with kids and knew that education was going to be a big part of my life. I took a gap year before going to university, working at a nursery and kindergarten for the first few months in London, then headed off to teach English to High School students in rural Malaysia for 8 months. During university summers, I worked at Summer Camps, one in New Hampshire in the US and the other closer to home in London.
I’ve actually been part of Team Kano twice: starting in 2016, I worked as a Customer Success Agent for a year helping kids, parents, teachers and students get the most out of our hardware and software, before leaving to teach Psychology A-Level and run STEM projects in schools all over London. I couldn’t stay away for long and came back to join Kano in 2018 to develop Kano’s presence in education all over the world, starting in Boston and now back at our HQ in London.
Why are you at Kano?
We’re creating the future. The future of education, the future of devices. A future of modularity, transparency, and sustainability. I’m at Kano to be a small part of that.
Tell us one thing you do every day? Every week? And then every month?
I read the news every day, I like to know what’s going on in the world, especially in business and tech. I don’t really use any social media, so I suppose this is my form of scrolling, tapping, and swiping on my phone all the time.
Every week I go for a long walk with my family in London. Whether across Hampstead Heath, around Alexandra Palace, or along canal paths – it’s a great way to both connect with family and disengage from the busyness of daily life. I think best when walking. I pace in virtual meetings all the time, holding my laptop in my palm like a pizza box.
Every month I look for dogs up for adoption. I didn’t grow up with pets and have always wanted one. My girlfriend is even more obsessed than I am on this front, so give us 6 months or so, you’ll almost definitely see us with a rescue. Probably walking across the Heath, and hopefully with me not on my phone reading the news.
What is the most fun part of your job?
I’m part ambassador, part cheerleader for the incredible creativity of our team, who have designed all Kano’s cool, innovative, educational technology that I get to talk about every day. I also get to connect with amazing and inspiring teachers, educational leaders, and partners, and see students being empowered by what we do day in, day out.
What do you see the future looking like for Kano?
Kano has some exciting plans for the next few years and I don’t want to spoil the surprise – but trust me, it’ll be worth the wait! Overall though, I see Kano being a source of inspiration, and an outlet of creativity for millions, if not billions, of kids and adults around the world.
We hope you enjoyed this week's interview. Keep your eyes peeled next week for our next 6 minutes of Kano.
Let us know if you have any questions for Ollie.
Have a great week.
