Data Spark Director Dr Susan Mulcahy appointed to UK’s new Digital Skills Council

Dr Susan Mulcahy, Director of Imperial College Business School’s Data Spark programme, has been appointed to the UK’s new Digital Skills Council

Part of the government’s new Digital Strategy, the expert council will bring together leaders in the technology space to bridge the digital skills gap "at all levels of society" and help make the UK a "global tech superpower".

Dr Mulcahy, who was Senior Education Fellow of Imperial's Data Science Institute before going on to head up the Business School's Data Spark programme, will be joined by fellow experts from prominent organisations such as Starling, Amazon Web Services and the Royal Academy of Engineering.  

Over 80 per cent of all jobs advertised in the UK now require digital skills

In addition to receiving her data-driven PhD from Imperial's Bioengineering Department in 2016, Dr Mulcahy has an MBA from INSEAD in France and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in the US. She has been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society since 2002.

Led by Digital Minister Chris Philp and Chairman of British semiconductor firm IQE Plc Phil Smith, the experts will look at the issue of digital skills from schools through to lifelong learning. The council will also review the UK’s large-scale computer processing capabilities, which will be key in powering technologies such as artificial intelligence. 

Over 80 per cent of all jobs advertised in the UK now require digital skills, according to the government. However employers say the lack of available talent is the single biggest factor holding back growth, with estimates suggesting the digital skills gap costs the UK economy as much as £63 billion a year in potential GDP.

By helping more people access interesting, sustainable, well-paid jobs through a variety of routes, the government hopes its plans for digital careers will unlock the potential of British businesses and grow the economy by billions of pounds.