London Hopper Colloquium - Celebrating Women in Computer Science

Hopper 2024 

The next Hopper event will be held in-person on 24 May 2024 in London. The event will feature talks from:

• Professor Yvonne Rogers (UCL)
• Professor Louise Brown (University of Nottingham)

and industry speakers:

• Ana Sanchez (Cisco)
• Caitlin McAuley ESPRC
• Angela Bates (BCS Women)

Last year's winners Mannon Flageat (Imperial College London), Shreya Iyler (University of Nottingham), and Cara Lynch (UCL) will be joining this year's Hopper event to speak about their research. The spotlight competition is now open, enter the spotlight competition 2024. 

This year's event is being sponsored by BSC Academy of Computing, ESPRC, and Cisco. For more information on the full programme, please visit our Hopper 2024 event page.

Register for the London Hopper Colloquium 2024

About the event  

The London Hopper is for academic researchers across the UK who are building a career in computing. 

The event provides a platform for women in computer science to showcase their research, network with other new researchers, and take part in a research spotlight competition.  

Research Spotlight competition   

The Research Spotlight competition focuses on female research Master’s and PhD students, providing them with a friendly forum for communicating the essence of their work. 

This will be via 3-5 minutes (depending on the number of accepted submissions) in-person presentations. 

Presentation topics may be from any research area within the field of computing, and may encompass interdisciplinary studies connected to computing.  

Prizes are awarded for the best research spotlight presentations and each entrant will also receive a prize. 

History of the Hopper Colloquia 

The London Hopper Colloquia grew out of the Scottish Hopper Colloquia and are modelled on the American Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing which is designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.  

These annual American meetings are held as a tribute to Admiral Grace Murray Hopper pioneer of the computer business language COBOL, who inspired many young U.S. Naval computing students during her heyday and still continues to inspire computer scientists around the world many years after her death.

Previous Hopper Events 

Supporters of the Hopper 

UCL Computer Science

UCL Computer Science is a global leader in research in experimental computer science. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework evaluation ranked UCL first place for computer science; 61% of its research is rated ‘world-leading’ and 96% of its research is rated ‘internationally excellent’.  

UCL Computer Science research has made a deep, lasting and sustained impact on all aspects of society. Code written at UCL is used across all 3G mobile networks; medical image computing now means faster prostate cancer diagnosis and has developed cutting edge software for neurosurgery; a human-centred computer security approach has transformed UK government’s delivery of online security.  

Our degrees reflect the ever-increasing importance of fields such as virtual environments, financial computing, and machine learning; and new programmes in Web Science and Business Analytics reflect latest trends in technology and industry. Computer Science enjoys a rich history – it established the first connection to the precursor of the Internet outside the US – and continues to create innovative technologies that change lives with computers. 

The BCS Academy of Computing

The BCS Academy of Computing is the Learned Society within BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and is dedicated to advancing computing as an academic discipline.  

By developing and supporting a cohesive community inclusive of scholars, researchers, educators and professionals with a shared commitment to the advancement of computing, the Academy aims to nurture ingenuity, inventiveness and innovation in computing.  

It is through our range of activities that we promote excellence in the creation, study and application of knowledge in computing. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, promotes wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice.  

Bringing together industry, academics, practitioners and government to share knowledge, we promote new thinking, inform the design of new curricula, shape public policy and inform the public. 

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. Their diverse portfolio ranges from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. 

EPSRC invests in world-leading research and skills to advance knowledge and deliver a sustainable, resilient and prosperous UK. They support new ideas and transformative technologies which are the foundations of innovations that improve our economy, environment and society. In partnership and co-investing with industry, they work to deliver both national and global priorities.  

Cisco

Cisco helps seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the unconnected. An integral part of their DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships, working together to identify customers' needs and provide solutions that fuel their success. 

Cisco understands the power of human connection and its potential to make a difference in our world. That's why they empower people to play a positive role in UK society. This starts with modelling the right values within their own organisation. It's all part of their People Deal, which outlines their commitment to support each other and work together to create shared success that will benefit everyone.