Professor Sue Black

Professor Sue Black OBE is an award-winning computer scientist, technology evangelist and digital skills champion who transforms how organisations and individuals engage with innovation. As Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist at Durham University, she combines over two decades of academic excellence with practical expertise in digital transformation, social media strategy and building inclusive tech cultures. Her groundbreaking campaign to save Bletchley Park through innovative social media mobilisation earned her an OBE in 2016 and the international Social Impact ABIE Award, whilst her founding of BCSWomen and the #techmums social enterprise demonstrates her commitment to closing digital skills gaps. Through her keynote presentations, Sue equips audiences with actionable strategies for harnessing technology confidently, developing diverse teams and driving meaningful change, inspiring leaders at every level to embrace digital opportunity for lasting organisational and social impact.

When Professor Sue Black OBE mobilised social media to rescue Bletchley Park from decay in 2008, she demonstrated how digital platforms could transform heritage preservation and sparked a campaign that would ultimately save the home of the World War II codebreakers. This groundbreaking achievement, which earned her an OBE in 2016 and the international Social Impact ABIE Award at the Grace Hopper Celebration in 2017, established her as one of the UK's most influential voices on how technology drives meaningful change. As Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist at Durham University since 2018, she has continued to champion digital transformation, social media strategy and equality in tech, recognised amongst the top 50 women in tech in Europe for her sustained impact on both industry and society.

Sue holds a PhD in software engineering and has built her career at the intersection of technical expertise and social purpose, bringing over two decades of academic excellence and more than 40 publications to her work. Her leadership extends far beyond academia through her role as a UK government adviser on improving digital services and her position on the Board of Trustees at Comic Relief, where she applies technology thinking to humanitarian challenges. She founded BCSWomen in 1998, creating the UK's first online network for women in tech, and later established #techmums in 2013, a social enterprise empowering mothers and families through digital skills. In 2019, she launched TechUPWomen, a pioneering initiative retraining underserved women into tech careers and addressing critical skills gaps. Her campaign to save Bletchley Park, documented in her book 'Saving Bletchley Park', resulted in the site's transformation into a world-class heritage centre and showcased the power of digital advocacy. Sue serves as an Ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education, sits as a judge for the Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Awards, and contributes to the Institute for the Future of Work as a trustee. She has shared her insights on platforms from Desert Island Discs to Woman's Hour, and spoken at venues including the United Nations, Google, and countless corporate and public events worldwide.

Sue's keynote presentations combine technical knowledge with deeply human motivation, drawing on her personal journey from leaving school and home at 16 to becoming a professor, demonstrating how education, determination and digital skills create transformative opportunities. She makes complex topics accessible to every audience, whether addressing corporate leadership teams, students, parents or policymakers, delivering practical strategies for harnessing social media effectively, building diverse tech teams, and developing digital confidence across organisations. Audiences leave equipped with actionable insights on leadership, innovation and inclusion, inspired by her authentic passion for technology's potential to solve real-world problems and her proven track record of turning vision into measurable change. Her ability to connect personal resilience with professional excellence, combined with her ongoing work championing digital skills and equality, ensures that her message resonates long after the event concludes.