Society Medal
Recognising outstanding individuals who are driving positive change in society with computing and tech.
Established in 2020, the Society Medal is one of BCS's highest awards. It celebrates people who make extraordinary use of IT and computing for the benefit of society. Winners can be recognised across any discipline, including design, practice, research, influence and policy.
Who's eligible to receive the medal?
Nominees for this award will have left a mark in their field and made significant contributions to society.
They may not be a dedicated tech specialist; they might be an influencer working in journalism, social and tech policy, or perhaps a campaigner or organisational leader who’s working to ensure that people from a range of backgrounds benefit from digital technology. What’s important is that their work and values have contributed to enhancing the reputation and contribution of IT in society.
This award is all about impact, so there are no restrictions based on career stage - if their work has made a positive difference they can be nominated.
2024 BCS Society Medal Winners
Two winners were selected to receive the BCS Society Medal in 2024. Karl Flinders, Computer Weekly journalist renowned for exposing the Post Office scandal, and Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, computer scientist and founder of Stemettes.
Flinders' investigation, which began in 2010, challenged the Post Office’s wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters due to faults in the Horizon computer system. Over almost two decades, innocent people faced severe consequences as the Post Office concealed software flaws, resulting in one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British history.
As founder and CEO of Stemettes, she has worked with over 65,000 young people across Europe, advocating for gender balance in tech. Her book She’s in CTRL empowers women to engage in the tech world. Imafidon made history as the youngest girl to pass A-level computer science at age 11, and was named the UK’s most influential woman in tech by Computer Weekly in 2020.
Previous Society Medal winners
The Society Medal, launched in 2020, receives a significant number of nominations of talented individuals who are currently working to make IT good for society. Here are some of our previous winners:
Professor Penny Endersby, CEO of the Met Office, was announced as the winner of the 2021 Society Medal. The Medal was in recognition of Professor Endersby’s outstanding contribution to making digital technology good for society and the environment.
The 2020 Society Medal winner was Elizabeth Denham CBE, The Information Commissioner. The award was in recognition of her outstanding contribution to making digital technology good for society, the judges cited her investigation into the unlawful data collection practices in political campaigns (including micro-targeting for marketing) which probed organisations including Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and Leave EU.
The Lovelace Medal
The Lovelace Medal recognises people who have made exceptional contributions to the understanding and advancement of computing, or to computing education.
Winners are presented with a Lovelace Medal award, and their contribution and achievements are celebrated at a special event.
