will.i.am is heading back to school to boost his knowledge of computer science, insisting technology is the future of education.

The Black Eyed Peas star is enrolling in a computer science class at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Los Angeles in September (13) to indulge his passion for gadgets, and he is urging kids to focus on a career in a hi-tech industry.

The rapper has long been a champion of furthering the use of technology and has decided to go back to school so he can keep abreast of the latest technological developments.

He tells British newspaper The Sun, "The future is technology and I want to see kids embrace that. The world doesn't need another musician, it needs another Bill Gates. When I tell kids they should be computer scientists and mathematicians, I'm not just saying that because it's cool to say.

"In September I'll be taking a computer science course at CalArts in L.A. because I'm passionate about where the world's going. I'm curious about it and I want to contribute."