It’s true to say that Professor Sue Black didn’t have a traditional start to her career. She left home and school when she was 16, was married at 20 and had three children by 23. A single parent at 25 years old, she decided to go to University, gained a degree in computing and went on to gain a PhD in software engineering.
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Prof Sue Black Tech Leader & Ambassador
Prof Sue Black is one of the leading tech personalities in the UK today; named in the list of top 50 women in tech in Europe and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lovie Awards in 2018. She has worked for educational establishments such as London South Bank University, University of Westminster, Cranfield University and Lucy Cavendish College, large companies including IBM, NESTA, Google and the British Computer Society, and has advised the likes of the European Commission, Bletchley Park Trust, the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Freedom of Expression and Comic Relief.
Prof Sue Black is a champion for women in computing, and founded BCSWomen, the UK’s first online network for women in tech, Sue Black ltd where she carries out her speaking engagements, the ‘goto’ foundation which helps inspire young people through technology, and #techmums, a social enterprise aimed at empowering mums and their families through technology.
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Prof Sue Black Writing & Social Media
Sue has written and contributed to over 40 academic publications on the theme of technology and computer science. Sue is very much an avocado for the positives of social media, often discussing key topics with her ever-growing following over 66,000 people on Twitter; she even credits the site as being the primary force in her campaign to save Bletchley Park.
Sue’s first book Saving Bletchley Park (2016) – the story of how social media rescued the home of the WWII Codebreakers, explore the successful campaign that she led to save Bletchley Park becoming an Amazon bestseller, and is one of the fastest crowdfunded books ever.
Her impact on the STEM world and on the Bletchley Park project has won her many an accolade including the Social Impact ABIE Award at the Grace Hopper Celebration in 2017, and an OBE in the New Years Honours list of 2016. She also sits on the UK Government’s advisory board for improving digital services and the Board of Comic Relief.
In addition to being the Daily Mirror tech agony aunt and regularly writing tech columns in The Guardian, Sue is a passionate speaker, and has spoken at many events worldwide, including to the United Nations, Google, the Civica, BETT Education Technology Expos, Bath and Oxford Literary Festivals, Townley Grammar School and Surbiton High School, the Women’s Aid, Housing Technology, Zendesk Relate and Stack Overflow Conferences, as well as at the Women of Silicon Roundabout event, Asian Women of Achievement Awards, UCL Professional Women’s Network and InspireFest.
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Prof Sue Black Public Speaking
Sue’s motivational keynote speeches focus on her determination to bring her family out of poverty to build a successful career through education, technology and a drive to succeed.
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Prof Sue Black Speaking Topics
- Technology and Key Tech Trends
- Social Media
- Innovation
- Education
- Women in Business
- Empowerment Through Technology
- IT
- Digital Economy and Digital Skills
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Prof Sue Black Media Work
She was a guest on Desert Island Discs covering all things tech and how to “be your best self on social media” and appeared as a panellist in the special edition of Woman’s Hour recorded live at the British Science Festival in Brighton.
She has appeared on shows for the BBC, Sky and ITN; appeared on radio panel shows including Infinite Monkey Cage (2009-) alongside Brian Cox and Dave Gorman; appeared in the BBC Three documentary Girls Can Code (2015) to encourage young women into the tech industry; and was the focus of a film made by Universal where she tells her story and shares her advice for being successful.
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To check fees and availability for technology speaker Professor Sue Black, contact Great Business Speakers on 0044 (0)1753 439289
