When we think of giants within the technology and computing fields, many of us in the Manchester area automatically think of Alan Turing. Further afield we may think of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or the Larry’s; Page and Ellison. But few I suspect would think of Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace.
Born in 1815, the Countess of Lovelace, or Ada Lovelace as she is so often known was an English mathematician, mainly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. She is also believed to be the first to have published an algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine, and as a result is often regarded as one of the first computer programmers.
In 1981, the Association for Women in Computing inaugurated its Ada Lovelace Award. Since 1998, the British Computer Society (BCS) has awarded the Lovelace Medal, and in 2008 initiated an annual competition for women students. BCSWomen sponsors the Lovelace Colloquium, an annual conference for women undergraduates.
On April 8 2020, Melanie Cope, a first-year BSc (Hons) Business Technology student, represented Manchester Metropolitan University to present her research at the BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium. The conference is uniquely organised for female students of computing and related disciplines and was originally scheduled to take place at University of Stirling, Scotland, but due to the pandemic, was transformed into a revolutionary virtual conference utilising technology such as Canvas and Discord.
Melanie successfully won first place in her year group for her poster, after successfully defending and answering questions from industry experts and the live conference audience; clearly another technology giant in the making!
Well done Melanie for the great effort, dedication and versatility to handle the last-minute changes from a physical to a virtual presentation. All of the Manchester Met Business Technology Team are all exceptionally proud of you!
Here’s what Melanie had to say about the event:
'Participating in the conference was a great experience. The organisers did a fantastic job and there were informative online sessions by inspiring female industry leaders. After each session, there was a digital Q&A session with the speaker via Discord. I am enthralled that I won in my category and cannot wait to participate again next year. I'd encourage other women from the department to participate too, you won't be disappointed.'
Melanie has produced a video of her explaining the benefits of this award and what she did to win.
Manchester Met is keen to develop links with Manchester Digital, after all, we are literally over the road from the MD HQ! Our Business Technology students and graduates could be the perfect ingredient your business is looking for, either as full-time employees or on a one-year placement.
Some of the highlights of our Business Technology degree are:
- We were the first university to offer a Business Information Technology course, more than 30 years ago - and we've been innovating ever since.
- Our Business School holds the prestigious triple accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA.
- Students take on practical projects, including building a web or mobile app and a prototype ecommerce system.
- The Business Technology degree opens up a host of career opportunities in business analysis, digital transformation consultancy, IT, project management, and web development, among others.
For more information visit: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/bsc-business-technology/ or contact Jonathan Kettleborough the Business Technology Programme Leader at: j.kettleborough@mmu.ac.uk
