The Engineering Council would like to congratulate registrant, Professor Tom Crick MBE PhD FHEA FBCS CEng CSci FAcSS, one of three recipients of the BCS Lovelace Medal this year.

The Lovelace Medal is presented annually by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of computing. Named after English mathematician and writer, Lady Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, it recognises people whose work in the areas of research and education have contributed to significant advances in computing. Previous winners include worldwide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and information retrieval pioneer Karen Spärck Jones.

Tom Crick is Professor of Digital Education & Policy and Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Swansea University. He will receive the Lovelace Medal for Education in recognition of his contributions to computer science education across research, policy and practice. He is renowned internationally for leading the major STEM education and skills reforms in Wales over a sustained period, alongside wider leadership in UK digital, engineering and technology policy to support a thriving digital and data-driven economy.

His broader research interests also include levers for government innovation, digital public services, new economic models for the digital economy, digital democracy, and public engagement. He also has extensive independent expert advisory, non-executive governance and assurance experience, across the public and private sectors, including Welsh and UK Government roles.

Professor Tom Crick said: “It has never been more important to critically assess the potential impact of computing and digital technologies across all areas of policy, from national infrastructure and the economy, health and wellbeing to heritage and culture – with education and skills being the foundation. That’s why I’m delighted and honoured to accept the BCS Lovelace Medal for Education. Now more than ever, we need to think about what it means to be a citizen in a digital, data-driven, computational and AI-enabled world. I’m hugely grateful to a diverse collection of colleagues, collaborators and mentors for helping make this wider work possible.”

Congratulations also go to Demis Hassabis and Professor Hillston who have both been awarded the Lovelace Research Medal.

Demis Hassabis CBE FRS FREng FRSA is co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, one of the world’s leading AI research groups. He is being rewarded for his extraordinary contribution to artificial intelligence and to the UK technology industry.

Jane Hillston MBE FRS FRSE is Professor of Quantitative Modelling and former Head of the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh. She is being honoured for her work developing new approaches to modelling both artificial and natural systems by combining elements of formal languages with mathematical modelling. In addition to computer systems, the resulting formalisms have found applications in biological, ecological and social systems.

For further details and the BCS full announcement, please visit the BCS website.

For press enquiries:   
Helen Potts, Engineering Council – hpotts@engc.org.uk, 020 3206 0568

The Engineering Council holds the national Register of Engineering Technicians (EngTech), Incorporated Engineers (IEng), Chartered Engineers (CEng) and Information and Communication Technology Technicians (ICTTech). It also sets and maintains the internationally recognised standards of competence and ethics that govern the award and retention of these titles. By this means it is able to ensure that employers, government and wider society, both at home and overseas, can have confidence in the skills and commitment of registrants. For more information visit: www.engc.org.uk