We recently spoke with three women in tech at digital catapult about their careers so...
Digital Catapult is the UK authority on advanced digital technology. Through collaboration and innovation, we accelerate industry adoption to drive growth and opportunity across the economy.
We bring together an expert and enterprising community of researchers, startups, scaleups and academic and industry leaders to discover new ways to solve big challenges that will unlock the UK’s future potential. Through our specialist programmes and experimental facilities, such as Sonic Labs and the Digital Supply Chain Innovation Hub, we make sure that innovation thrives and the right solutions make it to the real world.
With a headcount approaching 300 people, and growing and with local partners across the UK, we have established ourselves as a leader in innovation services and a centre of national expertise in 5G, VR, AI and IoT. Our team of experts span the Creative industries and Digital Manufacturing sectors as well as advanced digital technologies, including Future Networks, Immersive Tech, AI/ ML Tech and Distributed Systems. Early adoption of these technologies will accelerate growth and increase productivity in the UK economy.
Websites: https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/
Business Sector: Technology Innovation and Consulting
HQ Location: London,UK
Office Locations: Belfast, Bristol, Sunderland.
Number of People: 300
% of women in the organisation: 43%
Leadership Team:
CEO: Jeremy Silver
CFO: David Bletso
CPO: Allyssa Gregory
COO: Ray Lambe
CMO: Amanda Kamin
CTO: Joe Butler
CCO: Geraldina Iraheta
Chief Strategy Office: Jessica Rushworth
Female Leadership:
Director of Technology -Immersive: Jessica Driscoll
Director of Regional: Sarah Robb
Head of Innovation Practice: Katy Ho
Head of Creative Industries: Laura Helm
Data and AI Lead: Hema Ramamoorthy
Design Smarter Digital Twin Centre Director: Deborah Colville
We bring together an expert and enterprising community of researchers, startups, scaleups and academic and industry leaders to discover new ways to solve big challenges that will unlock the UK’s future potential. Through our specialist programmes and experimental facilities, such as Sonic Labs and the Digital Supply Chain Innovation Hub, we make sure that innovation thrives and the right solutions make it to the real world.
With a UK-wide team of 200+ employees and growing and with local partners across the UK, we have established ourselves as a leader in innovation services and a centre of national expertise in 5G, VR, AI and IoT. Our team of experts span the Creative industries and Digital Manufacturing sectors as well as advanced digital technologies, including Future Networks, Immersive Tech, AI/ ML Tech and Distributed Systems. Early adoption of these technologies will accelerate growth and increase productivity in the UK economy.
In this episode, Cecilia Nunn, Responsible AI/ML Technologist and Rachel Thuo, Junior Technologist at Digital Catapult, sit down with us to discuss their own professional paths
Once a senior policy and research manager for Digital Catapult, inspired by the talent in the UK startup ecosystem, Naïma Camara developed Ownership, an AI-based app to help innovators move from the idea phase to company formation.
At Digital Catapult, we follow a set of principles that are flexible and agile to allow us all to work successfully whether that is alone in a remote work environment or together in our collaborative office spaces. We trust our employees to do the right thing to deliver our work with pride and high standards and to participate in and contribute to the overall mission of the organisation.
• Ambition - What are you capable of; what are we capable of together? We value people who are ambitious for their own career and personal development, for the advancement of our technologies and for the organisations, start-ups and corporates alike, with whom we partner.
• Curiosity -Working at the forefront of advanced digital technology often means taking a leap of faith. Ambiguity is part of our world and we work together to make sense of it. We value those people who are truly curious, who will take risks and will push the boundaries to see what’s possible for themselves and the technologies we are engaged with, as well as for those organisations with whom we work.
• Openness- We believe true inspiration comes from openness and collaboration. Our bright and creative team of experts is called upon to work on big challenges, across multiple projects and with many different internal and external stakeholders. We require our people to be open and ready to take on new challenges. We equally recognise that our team will only continue to develop and thrive if we continuously promote and embrace diversity and inclusion in all that we do.
• Optimism -Whether it’s unlocking the potential of the technologies we work with, or your own personal potential, we adopt an optimistic approach to the challenges we take on and always strive to make a positive impact.
We have a vibrant and engaging culture where all voices are heard. We achieve this through committing to routine company-wide updates and our established internal networks that have formed over the years. From our Employee Voice Network to our Parents and Women in Tech networks, we have a variety of different employee led groups who champion a variety of initiatives within the organisation and provide opportunities for feedback to be shared and heard.
We also enjoy socialising and having fun together – this may be through a variety of company-wide events held throughout the year, running groups, our film club or volunteering activities.
Our typical interview process includes a telephone screening with one of our Talent Acquisition team, followed by 2 to 3 interview stages dependent on the role and level of seniority. We utilise task based interviews and competency based interviews to assess applicants consistently and fairly. Wherever possible, we strive to ensure we have a gender balanced and/ or diverse interview panel.
We recognise and value the advantages and opportunities that come with having people from diverse backgrounds working with us and it is our ambition to build an organisation which is representative and reflective of UK society. We believe equality, diversity and inclusion are key to creating an enjoyable and positive company culture and ultimately to the overall success of our business and of others with whom we work.
Our company values are ambition, curiosity, openness and optimism. Our value of openness encourages our employees to be themselves and demonstrates the importance of respecting each other. Our brilliant people ambitiously strive to inspire, drive and deliver positive change in the sectors and technology areas we work in.
As part of the Catapult Network, we have confirmed our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion- and will act on the following:
• We will ensure that ED&I is embedded in our culture and throughout our policies and procedures. • We aim to recruit the most talented individuals to our workplace and empower them to realise their goals.
• We will celebrate the individual as part of a strong and diverse team.
• We will promote an expectation for our collaborators to uphold ED&I practices.
• We will share best practices within the network and continually strive to improve.
Competitive Salary
Double Matched Pension
Wellbeing Package: Physical, Mental & Financial
28 Days + Holiday Purchase Scheme
Medical, Dental, Eye Care Cover
Cycle to Work Scheme
Salary Sacrifice E-Vehicle Scheme
Advantage Shopping Scheme
Season Ticket Loan
Life Insurance/Assurance
