Design & Technology LIVE! Student Event at Disneyland® Paris

Born in Dublin, Ben has been part of the Disney team for over 30 years fulfilling a number of roles from lifeguard, to Special Events Coordinator, to stuntman! He has produced a number of spectacular shows for the company including ‘Disney Dreams®!’, ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show… with Mickey and friends!’ and ‘Disney Stars on Parade!’. Ben’s most recent projects are the production of the stunning ‘Disney D-Light’ and ‘Avengers Power the Night’ shows – achievements powered by cutting-edge technology that includes amazing drone effects. 

Ben will dazzle your students as they learn about the design and execution of the Bastille Day Fireworks and how he is preparing the future of the new lake show coming to Disney Adventure World in 2026.

Lydia Bolton is a slow fashion designer and sustainability advocate who creates everything in her fashion label from unwanted textiles. Lydia's core mission is to educate people about fashion's impact on the climate and how we can value and reuse textiles. She does this through selling upcycled products, empowering skill-sharing workshops and informative social content. 

Since setting up her brand, Lydia has worked with Lime, Lidl, Nike, Adidas, Ecover, Pinterest, Braun, QuickBooks, Back Market, Channel 4 and Liberty with projects ranging from design collaboration, workshops and social content. 

Lydia will take your students through how to build a sustainable fashion brand, why sustainability is such a big issue within the fashion industry and how to approach design and business in a more sustainable way with solution-focused design, longevity and recyclability in mind.

From the iconic BBC Two Big Life Fix and winner of the 2020 IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers) Alastair Graham-Bryce "Imagineering" Award, Jude often blends artistic provocation with novel application of technology in his work.

Having worked for startups like Sugru and Mayku, through to large firms like Dyson, LEGO, BBC, and RS Group - Jude now works as an independent freelancer, and travels the world collaborating on projects which use tech to help people, and are ethically aware towards sustainability. Most recently he wrote a blog article series on how Repair Cafes can help young engineers learn how to design projects for longevity, and keep appliances out of landfill.

Jude will be speaking on the subject of Experimentation, Beta Testing and Physical and Digital Prototyping - over his diverse career, but most recently in the real life implications and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. His talk [working title] “New Adventures in Ethical AI” will explore his project with Lion Vision looking at how to prevent battery fires from Vape batteries in eWaste recycling plants. This then led him to a collaboration with RS and Nvidia - where he’s now looking at how AI can help reduce waste in deliveries of consumer products.

Our LIVE! Events Team provide expert on-site support throughout your stay to make your trip as easy and memorable as possible: 

• Be on-hand & provide assistance throughout the event 
• Register your students at the conference & take questions 

Our lively and interactive question and answer session gives the students control to ask the questions they want answers to.  All the speakers take to the stage to answer questions to provide different perspectives and to offer invaluable career advice from their own experience.

Our complementary workbooks are designed to be used as your group enjoy the Disney® Parks. The workbooks contain park challenges which encourage students to take a step back and critically appraise the resort from their subject perspective. These park challenges provide opportunity for problem solving, decision making as well as working together so that your students get the maximum from the their time at Disneyland® Paris.

Jon Chase is a science communicator, author and science rapper based in South Wales. He has an intense passion for scientific thinking and believes that knowledge should be made available in a way that allows as many people as possible the opportunity to gain access to it.

He has presented science for BBC learning on TV and YouTube and also co-authored books on The Science of Star Wars and The Science of Harry Potter. In 2017 he was awarded the Josh Award in Science Communication but is most well known for his science raps, which he has produced for various learning establishments and organisations including NASA, BBC, CH4 and Chester Zoo.

Jon will feature as Facilitator for Computing LIVE! on 2nd February only.