FDM Everywoman in Tech Awards 2019

On Wednesday evening I attended the FDM Everywoman in Tech Awards at the London Hilton Hotel. These awards celebrate the achievements of 14 women from a range of disciplines and backgrounds.

As a passionate supporter of the empowerment and enhancement of Women in Technology I was thrilled to have been nominated for this award and then shocked and delighted to have won. The competition was extremely fierce and I was up against some phenomenal women who are doing amazing work within the sector. I am really proud to have been able to fly the flag for the education sector as a whole and as an alumni of Leeds Beckett University I am proud to represent the institution that gave me the opportunity to start a successful career in tech. I am so thankful and grateful for all the support I receive from both my colleagues in the department but also the wider University.

I got to spend the evening with some fantastic women and was blown away by the passion, commitment and drive in each person I spoke with. During dinner I was sat next to a fellow finalist, a young girl, who at the age of 11 is already teaching coding classes and is crowdfunding and running events to promote technology and coding to other young girls. She told me that she wants to run her own software company one day. Although she didn't win the award for "one to watch" there is no doubt in my mind she will be successful. It filled my heart with joy and made me hopeful for the future generation.