Inspirational teacher helped guide Jen towards a career in computer science

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are shining the spotlight on a number of USW staff who are inspiring the next generation.

Computer Science lecturer Jennifer Whewell is one of those who is helping to show how women and girls can thrive in what is still a male-dominated sector, although it wasn’t a career she had an ambition to follow until she started her journey into further education.

After finishing GCSEs and deciding to take A-levels in applied information technology,  sociology, and computer science, as well as the Welsh Baccalaureate, at St Albans RC High School in Pontypool, Torfaen, Jen discovered a love for computer science.

Before that, she had little exposure to the subject, but an inspiring teacher changed the course of her academic and professional life.

“I didn’t actually know anything about computer science until my A-level teacher introduced it to me,” she said.

“He was probably my biggest inspiration because the subject is all just problem-solving, which is something I really enjoy doing. If you like puzzles and understanding how systems work, it’s an incredible field to be in.”

Despite being one of only two girls in a class of 35, Jen embraced the challenge, proving that gender should never be a barrier to pursuing a passion in science.

“The encouragement I received from him was instrumental in my success, and showed that it’s not just representation that is needed to inspire young women to pursue science - mentorship and belief in your potential are just as vital,” she said.

After completing her A-levels, Jen came straight to USW to pursue her degree in computer science, earning first-class honours in 2022. And it was the support on offer at USW that swayed Jen’s decision to do her degree at the University.

“I did go to quite a few in interviews at universities, but the main thing for me at USW was the close relationship that students seemed to have with the lecturer,” she said.

“I really liked the support network that was obviously a big part of the culture of the University, and that's something that I’ve tried to continue as a lecturer - I provide an open-door policy for all my students as I know how vital that can be.”

Following on from her degree, Jennifer continued her studies at USW and undertook a Masters in Data Science. The year-long course was, according to Jen ‘challenging’, but her love of the subject meant she was able to secure a distinction. And her project was also something a little bit of the ordinary.

“I have a real love of rugby,” she said. “So decided to develop an algorithm which would predict the results of the matches in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“There were a few glitches at first around the formatting of the dates of the matches, but once that was sorted it worked very well and correctly predicted all the results, including three perfect scores, and the eventual winners – South Africa.

“That was a great example of how computer science works. You’re basically training a model to understand how things are done and use that to get the prediction.”

Jen’s academic success has seen her take up a lecturer role at USW, a job she is doing while also pursuing further studies. She has recently embarked on a PhD which focuses on machine learning and neural networks, and developing AI models which can assist general practitioners in diagnosing skin cancer.

And her success is something she feels can inspire others to follow her lead.

“Yes, it is very male dominated, but I think you need to have to find something that you love and have the confidence to see it through, no matter if you’re the only on who’s taking that road,” she said.