Women in computer science
As a University and as a Department we are committed to equality and diversity and work hard to ensure that we are gender inclusive.
We have an unusually high number of women among our academic staff, compared to other UK universities - 24% of the total.
People in the Department of Computer Science have the aim of ensuring that the Department is a fair environment for learning, working, and research - and would love to see more women join us to study computer science.
Computer Science is such an exciting and creative subject area, and comes with very good career options in a broad range of application areas.
Professor Robert Stevens / Head of the Department of Computer Science
As the Head of the Department of Computer Science here at The University of Manchester I want people from all parts of society to participate in this opportunity. Currently, too few women study Computer Science and this is something I very much wish to change.
Some of our activities show how important this is to us.
Hear from our women
In Computer Science we have many talented women, both students and staff. Our new video series explores their reasons for choosing computer science.
Hear more from these students and staff members by visiting the Department of Computer Science blog.
Women of wonder
We have designated a number of female staff members who work in science and engineering at the University as 'Women of Wonder' to highlight and celebrate their work and research, and how it impacts upon our communities and our world.
- You can watch the series on YouTube
- Read about our inspiration female academics on the Faculty of Science and Engineering website
Ada Lovelace podcast series
A key theme of our podcast is the discussion of raising the profile of women in computer science, and STEM subjects more generally. The Ada Lovelace series, named after the Victorian computing visionary, allows us to highlight the importance of our women. Listen to the last few podcasts from this series:
- Anna McCartain: Balancing computer science and music
- Talking with Teo - A Google Women Techmakers Scholar
- Women In CS and STEM
Athena Swan
Our Department holds an Athena SWAN Bronze Award. Athena SWAN is a scheme which recognises our institution's ongoing commitment to the advancement of gender equality.
Staff and student profiles
Some of our staff and students tell us a bit more about their area of computer science.
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Professor Sophia Ananiadou
My work: I work in Natural Language Processing and Text Mining, both part of AI. I analyse big textual data from different sources to extract automatically hidden associations and to discover new knowledge for different applications (search, curation) and domains (biomedicine, humanities, biodiversity).
My view of CS: An exciting area of disciplines merging for practical applications.
My way into CS: I was always very interested in language learning. My first degree was in linguistics, then sociolinguistics and computational linguistics. I was then offered a job to work on a large EC project on machine translation and never looked back.
Other interests: I enjoy travelling, visiting museums, films and the opera.
Read more about Sophia and her research
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Dr Sarah Clinch
My work: I study technology embedded in everything that we do, even when we have no real awareness that a computer is involved (ubiquitous computing). I'm particularly interested in the role of technology in cognition and mental health.
My view of CS: The breadth of the discipline continues to astound and fascinate me. For me CS is the perfect balance of logic and creativity, and its widespread applicability means there's always a new avenue to explore.
My way into CS: My dad was a programmer, but I was convinced that it didn't really interest me that much. I started out minoring in CS at University because I had to choose I science -- I quickly discovered that I enjoyed programming at least as much as my psychology major and finished up graduating in CS instead.
Other interests: Being outside makes me smile -- walking, pottering in the garden and geocaching. I'm also a keen knitter with enough wool socks to see me through even the harshest of winters.
Read more about Sarah and her research
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Dr Caroline Jay
My work: I'm interested in the interaction between people and technology, from writing code to creating and using tools.
My view of CS: Creating technology is about solving problems, and it requires people from a diversity of backgrounds, with a diversity of skills, to achieve the best results.
My way into CS: My first degree was in psychology. I wanted to do an MSc in Cognitive Science (which would have taught me how to program), but when this was discontinued, I opted (on a whim!) to do Computer Science instead. After graduating, I worked for a short time as a software engineer, before coming back to do a PhD.
Other interests: Like all computer scientists I know, I like to spend time away from computers. I'm happiest on a boat or up a mountain.
Read more about Caroline and her research
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Professor Uli Sattler
My work: I design languages and algorithms to help people like biologists or medics to share their knowledge so that computers can use it to make systems more intelligent.
My view of CS: A great area to work in: very creative and with applications in all kinds of subjects, from physics via climate modelling to cancer research.
My way into CS: I used to be a dress maker before discovering CS by chance, via a friend (thank you!).
Other interests: I love all sorts of sports, in particular hiking and skiing, as well as dancing and crafts.
Read more about Uli and her research
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Dr Andrea Schalk
My work: What is the mathematics that will allow us to understand computational processes or logical derivations? I try to find answers to this question.
My view of CS: Computer science is a platform that allows people to tackle issues everywhere, and so our alumni work in varied fields when they leave here. It's possible to study both, maths and computer science in a joint degree here.
My way in to CS: I'm a mathematician by training and became excited about the wide variety of areas of mathematics which are of use when modelling computational processes.
Other interests: When I'm out of the office I enjoy visiting wild places and taking photos of birds, mammals, and their wider habitats.
Read more about Andrea and her research
