Graduating students – Lahraib Khan, BSc(Hons) Computer Science

Congratulations to all our students on their graduation 

A PASSION for maths and for information technology led to Lahraib Khan’s choice of course at the University of Huddersfield and – at the age of 20 – she has just graduated with First Class Honours in her Computer Science BSc.  Now, she heads to London to take a software development job with a tech-focussed business consultancy.

But although Bradford-born Lahraib was herself never in any doubt about the direction her studies and career would take, she believes that prejudice and stigma mean that far too many girls and young women are led to believe that the so-called STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – are not for them.

So, during her time at the University of Huddersfield, she acted as an Open Day Ambassador for its School of Computing and Engineering and actively campaigned to encourage more females to take the route she followed.

Also, Lahraib launched a Women’s STEM Society and for her final-year degree project she developed a computer game designed to encourage girls to take an interest in computing.

Study Computer Science at Huddersfield

She is trying to overturn some deep-seated attitudes, she believes.

“There is a prejudice that computing is a man’s world and that you have to be good at gaming.  Things like that can really put you off,” said Lahraib.  “I have never really played computer games, but I do love computer science.”

Lahraib says that she found her University of Huddersfield degree course “100 per cent stimulating” and particularly appreciated its practical, hands-on dimension.  Now, success at her studies has led to a post as a junior software developer for the innovative London-based Publicis Sapient, which specialises in harnessing advanced information technology to boost the performance of companies.

But Lahraib has no intention of giving up her mission to encourage women to enter the STEM scene and activities include writing online articles that state her case.