Nationally, levels of female participation in computer science are quite low - around 15%, yet female undergraduates achieve proportionally more first-class honours degrees than their male partner counterparts.
These harsh facts inspired David Millard, Associate Professor of Electronics and Computer Science; Su White, Associate Professor of Electronics and Computer Science; Michael Butler, Professor in Computer Science; and Dr Reena Pau, Outreach Officer in Electronics and Computer Science, to set up the Ada Lovelace Excellence Scholarship.
“We need women to be involved, it's too important for women not to have a voice in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), and we can’t afford to be drawing on the talents of only half the population when we are building the future of society" says David. “We need to show women applicants that Electronics and Computer Science are much more vibrant and creative disciplines than they often perceived to be, with opportunities in all areas of life.”
The Ada Lovelace scholarship is an attempt to create a core group of excellent women scholars within ECS, who could really help to change perceptions of the discipline and go on to be future leaders in digital technology.
“We had a number of scholarships available, but they were not specific to women, so we invested heavily in outreach programmes including our summer schools and set up." said Su White. “Now, we have achieved an acceptable level of female scholars, but aim for much more.”
To date, there are 17 Ada Lovelace Excellence Scholarship recipients. Hear their stories below.