Women in Computing: Influential Voices in Tech

Girls Get To Look at Careers in Tech

On 9 January, over 300 girls from St George's and other local schools gathered for an inspirational day of talks and hands-on activities aimed at sparking their interest in technology and computing careers.

The day kicked off with a keynote speech from Leah Hutcheon, CEO of the highly successful local startup Appointedd and advocate for women in business. Hutcheon shared her personal journey to tech entrepreneurship and offered advice to the students on following their passions.

Students then heard briefly from several other successful women in Scotland’s burgeoning tech sector, including software engineers, founders, and leaders in cybersecurity. Each speaker highlighted the range of opportunities available to girls looking ahead to careers in computing. They then presented awards to St George’s Lower School pupils who have excelled in computing science with the help of an assistant, “Spot” the robot dog.

"Events like these underscores why we believe so strongly in a specialised education for girls," said Carol Chandler-Thompson, St George's Head. "By bringing successful women in STEM fields to interact with our students, we're showing them first hand the breadth of technology careers they can aspire to. We know that role-modelling is so important: if you can see it, you can be it."

The real highlight of the event was the exhibition hall, where groups of girls rotated between interactive stalls hosted by cutting-edge companies and organisations like Amazon, NatWest, the National Robotarium, Space Intelligence and more. Students were able to get hands-on with robots, built digital art using AI, learned about ethical hacking, explored satellite imaging technology, see demonstrations by “Spot” and much more. 

Our guests from Blackhall Primary School and Cargilfield enjoyed the experience and found the event to be informative, interactive and inspiring!

“The idea was to showcase the excitement, creativity and global impact possible in a tech career,” said Jack Walker, Computing Teacher, and organiser of the event. “Judging by the energy in the hall today, I think we succeeded!”

With Scotland seeking to strengthen its reputation as a world leader in fields like AI, fintech and space technology, events like this aim to ensure girls see themselves as part of that future.