Main image: Sir Charles Wheeler’s statues outside the London offices of English Electric where Dennis Blackwell worked and whose significant collection AIT now holds and was given a National Archives grant to conserve. The statue on the left is “Speed” and the one on the right is “Power”. Courtesy of Express & Star Newspapers, Wolverhampton Archives.
2024 has been an exciting year where we’ve continued to interview and interact with the leading people associated with the UK IT and Telecommunications industry, been successful with grant applications and outreach projects, published features that glean from experts featured in our archive as well as created more engaging resources for primary schools.
Below you’ll find highlights of our interviews, lesson plans, articles, blogs, in-depth features, special reports and YouTube shorts.
As well as these highs, it was also a sad end to the year as we said goodbye to our former director, Dr Tom Abram, who died in November and will be greatly missed.
However, we look forward to continuing Tom’s passion and drive by bringing you more valuable content in 2025 and begin with two events early in the new year with AIT’s Forum on Norms for the Digital Age (28 January) and 75 years of Human-Computer Interaction (24 January)! We hope you can join us.
January
AIT hosts its inaugural Forum on the Histories of the Internet
Read the highlights of The Forum, which took place on 9 January at the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists’ Livery Hall and online, to discover how is the internet developed, is being recorded, how are we tackling digital storytelling and how collections are being archived and accessed.
AIT receives National Archives grant to conserve Dennis Blackwell collection
This was one of our most popular news stories of the year and detailed AIT’s aim is to scope the archive collection of Dennis Blackwell (1929-2016) a key figure in the British computer industry for more than 50 years, which it was given custodianship of by his family in 2023.
February
Interview: Professor Sir Iain Gray
Director of Aerospace at Cranfield University. Sir Iain has 27 years industry experience in the aerospace sector including roles at British Aerospace and BAE Systems.
Interview: Andy Green
A major figure in the IT and Telecoms industry since the mid-1980s, holding senior positions and notably influencing the development of two iconic British entities, BT and Logica across 30 years.
Interview: Professor Nigel Gilbert CBE
Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey. Nigel brings a fascinating insight into how IT can help us understand society.
Interview: Mark Enzer OBE
Mark Enzer OBE is a consultant engineer with experience in the water industry, universities, central government digital policy.
AIT Education inspires future technologists with the launch of eight new lesson plans
These technology-related lesson plans offer a perspective on the history of IT as well as practical instructions for future technologists. They also denote a bit of a milestone for AIT, as we now offer 30 such resources with more to come.
AIT Curriculum Overview
We set out how we strive to support both teachers and students with engaging and impactful lessons while making the exciting opportunities within the field of technology accessible to all.
March
Interview: Professor Ross Anderson
Ross Anderson was a Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge and at Edinburgh University. A pioneer in his field, he devoted his career to developing security engineering as a discipline: building systems to remain dependable in the face of malice, error or mischance.
AIT launches Schools’ Competition: Recording Oral History
At AIT we collect the personal histories of people who have and are doing positive things in the world of technology so other people can learn about the industry and share this information.
April
Feature – From bricks to bendables: 40 years of mobile phones
Tells the story of this transformative technology from its beginnings in 1984 (with a delve into its background) and how it has fundamentally affected our lives.
Interview: Professor Phil Blythe
Phil Blythe is Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems, Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, and heads up the Research Hub for Decarbonised Adaptable and Resilient Transport Infrastructures (DARe).
Blog: The IT industry must do more for disabled people – part nine
Chris Winter writes about the need not only for regulation and legislation, but also self-regulation.
May
Norms for the Digital Age: Call for Proposals for AIT’s 2025 Forum
We invited essays and research papers that address the role or impact of norms across a variety of technologies and contexts of use for our 2025 Forum, as well as international differences, historical perspectives, and cross-national or cross-cultural comparisons.
Feature – How IT is benefitting society in diverse ways
In 2024 AIT interviewed four pioneers who have enabled change and in this article we focus on their key contributions to society and also look at two previous interviews from 2021 and 2022 with entreprenuers who have actively positioned their skills and careers for the benefit of society.
AIT presentation to Financial Services Club: What use is technological history for future projections?
AIT’s PR and Communications Manager, Adrian Murphy gave a talk for Z/Yen’s Financial Services Club (FSC) which is a global executive knowledge network for technology and finance, on Wednesday 28 May entitled: What Use Is Technological History For Future Projections?
June
Winners of the AIT Schools’ Oral History competition announced
We were really impressed by young students from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 who recorded a piece of history for our competition and the reaction of one parent above. Students from Our Lady’s Prep School, Berkshire and Barley Lane Primary School, London won copies of Beverly Clarke MBE’s tech-related children’s books.
Interview: Lisa Perkins
Lisa Perkins is director of Adastral Park and Research realisation in BT’s Technology unit.
Interview: Professor David Duce
Professor David Duce is a retired Professor in Computer Science in the Department of Computing and Communication Technologies at Oxford Brookes University and has been involved in computer graphics since 1975.
Interview: Bob Hopgood
Professor Bob Hopgood is a veteran of UK computer science having worked in the field since the 1960s.
Feature – Iconic companies: the highs and lows of the UK’s ground-breaking computer industry
In this article we have brought together some of our previous observations about how LEO, English Electric, Marconi, Ferranti and ICL were at the forefront of the world’s computer industry and how, through successive mergers, became confused, less effective and finally acquired.
Blog: The IT industry must do more for disabled – part ten
Chris Winter discovers the Valuable 500 white paper on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) and Disability Data and says that all organisations should include W3C Web Content Accessibility Content within their ESG programmes.
July
School Visit: Ama Frimpong and Sir Robin Saxby motivate year 6 students to find their passion
Sir Robin Saxby, the first CEO of Arm, was joined by Ama Frimpong, The Institute of Engineering and Technology’s Young Woman in Engineering 2022, as they led an assembly at Little Thurrock Primary School in Essex. It was part of a collaboration between Archives of IT and Sir Robin, whose generous support and funding has enabled AIT to inspire future technologists and create lesson plans.
Interview: Lory Thorpe
Lory Thorpe is Quantum Safe lead for IBM, working with clients, partners, competitors, industry associations, standards organisation to bring together the ecosystem of stakeholders that will enable the journey to quantum safe.
Interview: Stephanie Liston
Stephanie Liston is an acknowledged international expert in telecommunications regulation.
AIT supports BCS letter to government to close IT gender gap
The BCS, The Chartered Institute of IT, has sent a letter to Peter Kyle MP the new Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which highlighted a huge gender gap with more than 500,000 women ‘missing’ from the UK’s IT sector.
Blog: The IT industry must do more for disabled – part 11
Why is digital accessibility one of the IT industry’s biggest failures?
Blog: University students complete work placement with AIT
Mark Jones, Adviser with AIT, writes about the progress of the most recent cohort of students – from Swansea and Manchester universities and University College London – who have recently completed work placements with AIT
August
Tribute to Mike Lynch
British technology entrepreneur, Mike Lynch, the founder of Cambridge tech firm Autonomy, once Europe’s largest software company, died after the yacht he was holidaying on sank in stormy weather off the coast of Sicily.
Blog: Low colour contrast makes websites illegible
The IT industry can do more for the disabled – Part 12. Chris Winter, an Ambassador for the Digital Poverty Alliance and evangelist for digital accessibility, is back with his latest blog which focuses on the disadvantages of low colour contrast on websites
September
Tola Sargeant announced as Archives of IT’s Chief Executive Officer
Archives of IT names Tola Sargeant as its Chief Executive Officer to spearhead the charity’s aims to capture, preserve and share the voices of people from the UK IT and Telecommunications industry and inspire the next generation.
Keynote speakers announced for AIT’s 2025 Forum
Confirmed keynote speakers are prominent communications scholar, Professor, Rich Ling and BBC journalist Bill Thompson.
Blog: The story of Beverly Clarke MBE and her new charity Technology Books for Children
In the ever-evolving landscape of the tech industry, Beverly Clarke MBE, a leader in the education and tech sector, has set out on a mission to inspire young minds and foster a love for technology through reading for pleasure on tech topics.
October
Feature – Cyber Security: meeting the challenges of the biggest threat to tech
In October AIT took part in Cybersecurity Awareness Month with the theme ‘Secure Our World’ and delved into our archive to reveal insights from our interviewees on the topic. To support this initiative, we also published a feature: Cyber security – meeting the challenges of the biggest threat to tech, giving some perspective on the history of cybersecurity, latest developments in the field and how our interviewees have contributed to one of the world’s fastest growing industries.
Blog: Beverly Clarke MBE, Inspiring Future Innovators Through Technology Books: Aligning with AIT’s mission
As part of a new collaboration between AIT and Beverly Clarke MBE’s charity Tech Book for Children she writes about inspiring future innovators through technology books, aligning with key AIT mission.
Blog: Making the world wide web more accessible
Chris Winter explains how he is not a technical expert when it comes to digital accessibility but focuses on raising awareness with organisations who choose not to improve the accessibility of their websites and mobile apps.
November
Tribute to Dr Tom Abram
Tom had tirelessly managed the day-to-day development AIT creating three strong themes to the charity: interviews with key players in UK IT, IT career focused programmes for primary schools and research by universities into the social and economic experiences of AIT interviewees
Sir Robin Saxby inducted to City of London Engineering Hall of Fame
Sir Robin was one of seven newly inducted, iconic engineers connected with the City of London and only the second IT entrepreneur to be honoured as part of the City of London Engineering Hall of Fame, the first being software engineer, IT entrepreneur and venture philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley.
December
Registration opens for AIT’s 2025 Forum on Norms for the Digital Age
Places are now available for the Archives of IT (AIT) 2025 Forum on Norms of the Digital Age from Students to States. Book your tickets here.
AIT announces special event focusing on the UK Pioneers of Human-Computer Interaction
From Punch Cards to Brain-Computer Interfaces: 75 Years of Human-Computer Interaction in the UK on 24 February 2025 in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists (WCIT). Book your tickets here.
Blog: Raising awareness with organisations about digital poverty and accessibility
Chris Winter explains how he is not a technical expert when it comes to digital accessibility but focuses on raising awareness with organisations who choose not to improve the accessibility of their websites and mobile apps
AIT YouTube Shorts
Our new YouTube shorts include our archivist, Stephanie Nield, talking about the tech firsts made by iconic computer company, Ferranti, the invention of the loyalty card, how to get your AIT Forum tickets and what connects Christmas cakes and computers?
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
