Dr Michelle Dickinson says science fiction sparked her interest in technology: watching Captain Kirk use a flip-phone-like communicator on Star Trek made her imagine people communicating that way. By age 10, she was learning to code at home. In a 2019 CIO interview, the engineer and nanotechnology specialist connected that early curiosity to a broader aim: helping children see that technology is for everyone—and something to create, not just consume.
How science fiction sparked Dickinson’s interest in technology
“I think my love for science fiction is why I love technology,” Dickinson told CIO. She recalled seeing Captain Kirk use a device resembling a flip phone on Star Trek and imagining people communicating through something like it. That blend of an imagined future and a practical question—how could people actually use such a device?—offers a glimpse of the curiosity that drew her toward technology.
She described herself as someone who “loved tech way before it was cool.” The interview says she began learning to code at age 10, largely by teaching herself at home. That is a biographical detail about her own childhood, not evidence that every child needs to start coding at a particular age.
From early coding to engineering and nanotechnology
The 2019 interview traces Dickinson’s path from that early interest to engineering studies and a specialization in nanotechnology. At the time, CIO identified her as a senior lecturer in materials engineering at the University of Auckland and as a co-founder of Nanogirl Labs. Those are the roles reported by the interview in 2019; they should not be taken as confirmation of her current positions.
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Her story is not presented as a single required route into technology. It is an example of how an interest can grow—from imagining what technology might do, to learning how to build it, to applying engineering knowledge and sharing science with others.
Why Dickinson wants more children to have access
Dickinson said she wanted to create opportunities for children who might not have ready access to technology or adults who could guide them. “I had opportunities that were open to me,” she said, “so my goal is to create opportunities for other children, especially those who may not have access to technology or may not have teachers or parents who are versed in technology.”
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That aim is about more than devices. Access can also mean having encouragement, instruction and the chance to explore what technology can do. In the same interview, she stressed the importance of diversity—not only by gender and ethnicity, but also in the range of perspectives people bring to technology.
Interviewer Kate Kolich, identified by CIO as an NZTech Women interviewer and the Social Investment Agency’s director of data systems and analytics, made a related point about visibility: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Kolich described technology careers as including varied roles and winding paths. Together, their comments frame representation as part of how children discover that a future in technology could be open to them.
Technology as something to create, not just consume
Dickinson’s message was direct: “Tech is for everybody, not just for computer nerds.” She urged people to “Embrace it, live it,” and said she wanted them to be “creative with tech, not just consumers of technology.”
That distinction broadens what it means to take part. A person does not have to identify as a programmer or pursue an engineering career to ask how a tool works, imagine a new use for it or make something with it. Dickinson’s emphasis is on welcoming more people into that creative relationship with technology.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What she said about automation—and what the interview establishes
In 2019, Dickinson expected robotic automation to affect work in fields including law, medicine and manual labor, and anticipated technology reaching much of the workforce. Those comments are her views as reported at the time, not a current forecast supported by employment statistics in the interview. The article offers no named study or numeric finding to quantify the effect of automation.
A hands-on way to explore science at home
For readers who want a practical activity book, Penguin Books New Zealand lists Dickinson’s The Kitchen Science Cookbook as a 176-page hardback published on 2 July 2019 (ISBN 9780241395585). The publisher describes it as a family book of science experiments using ordinary kitchen ingredients. It is a separate resource for exploring science at home, not a book evaluated or recommended in the CIO interview.
Source: CIO’s 8 October 2019 interview with Dr Michelle Dickinson; Penguin Books New Zealand’s catalogue entry for The Kitchen Science Cookbook.
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