Computer Science academic named among top women in tech

Dr Panesar, a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, is been recognised for her pioneering work on human-computer language interactions (for example helping Chatbots get smarter), as well as her distinguished academic career that has spanned more than two decades so far.

The awards showcase remarkable women within the technology sector covering a wide range of roles such as Cloud Consultant, Backend Software Engineer, Aircraft Engineer, and Machine Learning Product Manager. Kulvinder's win puts her alongside tech leading lights from firms including the BBC, University of Oxford, John Lewis, The Alan Turing Institute and Microsoft among others. 

She said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be included in the TechWomen100  Winners List, with such amazing and talented women. I feel very proud and am thankful to everyone who took the time to vote for me."

"Coming from a predominately male-dominated field, I have been committed to encouraging more women into the computing/technology space for several years. There's an increasing skills gap in the digital sector and we need to empower women and spread the word that they too can be ambitious and have successful technology careers." 

"It is an absolutely brilliant time to be celebrating Women in Technology. As an individual, I feel I have reached a level where I can say I am an expert in my field, and demonstrate commitment. I am commended on my passion and enthusiasm to keep up-to-date in the computer science field, and continue with my niche research area – ‘natural language processing (NLP) in artificial intelligence (AI)’. From a STEM strategic perspective, the years of initiatives and programmes to encourage more women in technology, have started to materialize and reap marked increases of professional and technology driven women taking up various posts that only men had applied for about five years ago."

The awards ceremony takes place at the QEII Centre in Westminster in January. For more information about the event and the winners see the TechWomen100 website.