Business & Technology
Women in TechWorks event draws 160 at Arm Cambridge
Women in TechWorks held its inaugural ‘Engineering Intelligently’ event at Arm’s Cambridge headquarters, drawing about 160 attendees and a waiting list of more than 150.
The turnout highlighted strong demand for women-focused technology leadership events, with registrations exceeding expectations. Attendees included women and allies at different career stages, as well as people in finance, human resources and business roles.
The event featured keynotes, workshops, networking and discussion, with sessions on mentoring, leadership, retention and the impact of artificial intelligence on workplaces and executive decision-making.
Charles Sturman, Chief Executive Officer of TechWorks, linked the initiative to broader skills and leadership gaps in the sector.
“I am proud of what we have achieved here today,” Sturman said.
“The UK has a strong research, innovation and engineering base, but we need more skilled technology and business leaders to help companies scale. This initiative helps address that gap by encouraging more women with the interest and ability to build careers in tech to enter the sector, stay in the sector and progress into leadership, bringing with them valuable diversity of thought, experience and perspective.”
Opening address
The day opened with remarks from Jillian Hughes, founder of Women in TechWorks, who spoke about her career path and the need to ensure women are not excluded during a period of rapid technological change.
“If you told the apprentice version of me that I’d be standing up here 35 years on, opening this event at Arm today, I would have just laughed,” Hughes said.
She also addressed the industry’s wider talent picture.
“We are living through one of the most significant technology transformations of our generation,” Hughes said. “The UK is very good at developing technology. However, developing technology alone is not enough to compete on the global stage. We need the talent and the skills to do so, and women remain underrepresented in the technology sector. To succeed, we need to harness the full spectrum of talent.”
Charlotte Eaton, chief people officer at Arm, delivered the keynote speech. She organised her remarks around five themes: courage, relationship building, range, brand and adaptability, drawing on her career in banking, fast-moving consumer goods and technology.
One example focused on confidence and decision-making early in a career.
“Confidence rarely arrives before the action,” Eaton said. “It normally arrives following it. In that moment I derived a value I have carried with me for more than two decades: I never put anyone above me, and I never put anyone below me in my mindset.”
Eaton, who described herself as a “boomeranger” after returning to Arm, also spoke about the need to unlearn as careers progress.
“A lot of what it takes to progress is knowing what you have to let go along the way,” she said.
She then addressed the gender gap in technology and the pace of change in the sector.
“In times of significant change, including technological shifts, opportunities will arise. When those openings come, are you ready to step forward?” Eaton said.
Her closing remarks returned to the role of people in a field shaped by technical change.
“Undoubtedly technology will continue to evolve. But humanity remains our edge. It is the sparkle of human potential that will continue to be the multiplier for us. Progress has always been a collective effort, and changing the shape of the context for the generations that come will take all of us,” she said.
Skills pipeline
The morning programme also examined how organisations can attract and retain more women in technology roles. Mahdieh Ghoddusi, director of delivery at the UK Electronics Skills Foundation, outlined work aimed at addressing the gender imbalance in electronics through initiatives that start at school age and continue into higher education.
According to figures shared at the event, the foundation’s Girls into Electronics programme has supported 1,500 girls to date. Its scholarship scheme has provided nearly 1,000 students with industry work experience over 15 years.
Survey findings presented during the session showed that almost half of women studying electronics felt the field was not for them. The data underlined the need for support not only at entry level, but throughout education and the early stages of a career.
The afternoon turned to workplace change, with sessions on AI trends and executive leadership in an AI era. Discussion focused on how leaders are navigating rapid technological shifts while building inclusive teams and systems.
For many attendees, one of the most striking aspects of the day was being in a technology setting where women formed the majority. Networking sessions during breaks and lunch were active, with participants exchanging advice, contacts and personal experiences.
Men also attended, and some signed up as mentors during the event. Hughes said several male participants remarked on how unusual it was to see so many women gathered in a technology environment, underscoring the work still to be done across the industry.
At the close of the event, Hughes reflected on both attendance and engagement.
“I have been absolutely overwhelmed, not just by the number of attendees in person and online, but by how many people are interacting with each other who have not met before, the quality of speakers, and the key takeaways. I hope one of the main takeaways is: be bold, be brave, and don’t assume that ambitions are obvious. There’s a buzz about the place, there’s a genuine want for an event like this; people want to be here, and I’ve already been asked about the next one. Arm has been really supportive, and I’m overwhelmed by the sponsors, speakers, partners, attendees and, of course, the TechWorks staff. This event is not about displacing men – we absolutely need men as allies, and I’m delighted to see men here today signed up as mentors already,” she said.
The 66-year-old Chipping Norton farmer was flying out of Boston, USA, when he announced his drink is now available on BA flights.
Announcing the partnership with the airlines, the former Top Gear host said: “Farmers of the UK, good news.
“You know we buy your barley to turn into Hawkstone lager? Well British Airways, which is where I am now, is now serving that lager on their flights. I kid you not, they are.”
READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson signs exclusive deal with British Airways
In an update, British Airways has revealed the lager will not be sold on long-haul flights but rather its short-haul journeys.
Responding to questions, a spokeswoman told us: “Yes we currently offer Hawkstone on board our short-haul flights, where customers can purchase through our High Life Cafe.”
The High Life Cafe is the buy-on-board food and drink service for economy class passengers on short-haul and domestic British Airways flights
A 330ml can of Hawkstone Premium Lager is available on flights for £5.75 or 1,030 AVIOS points.
The deal is the latest in a long line of contracts being signed for Mr Clarkson’s Hawkstone brand.
It is now sold in Waitrose, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Marston’s pubs.
Hawkstone, named after a Cotswold stone, was announced earlier this year as the fastest-growing company in the region in the fourth annual Sunday Times 100 rankings.
The brewery, whose largest shareholder is the 65-year-old presenter, was ranked 23rd on the list, which ranks the 100 leading entrepreneurial businesses in the UK.
The brand is led by managing director Owen Jenkins, 44, and has expanded into more than 1,500 UK pubs.
Founded by Starlin Marot in September 2025, Bad Girl Books began as a series of pop-up events designed to bring the online romantasy community together through indie books, special editions, and merchandise.
Ms Marot, originally from Palm Beach County near Miami, will open the new store in Walton Street on Saturday, followed by a series of author visits throughout the summer.
READ MORE: Major high street retailer is at risk of collapse
The store, a former ceramics studio, will stock one of the UK’s largest dedicated ranges of romantasy titles – about 2,000 books – alongside special editions, gifts, merchandise and products from independent female-owned brands.
There are other stores in the UK which have romantasy books but this is claimed to be the first store solely dedicated to the genre.
Ms Marot said she was inspired to start reading romantasy fiction, a fantasy romance crossover genre, three year ago after trying a novel by Sarah J Maas, one of the leading authors in the genre.
She added: “The reason I like the romantasy genre so much is because it is so inclusive and empowering.
“It can be empowering to celebrate stories written by women, which feature women’s voices and desires.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting lots of new customers.”
Bad Girl Books’ first pop-up event in London tempted more than 1,000 people to sign up within three days, while more than 8,000 readers have attended its last four pop-up events across the UK.
The launch in Jericho will be marked by a “mini-summer romantasy festival” every Saturday and Sunday in July and August, when more than 50 authors will host signing tables in the shop, which has been painted pink and looks ready to open.
Ms Marot, a former marketing student, said the store is intended to fill a gap in both the local community and the wider UK book market.
She said earlier: “I started Bad Girl Books as a way to meet the romantasy community in real life and create a genuinely fun, unique shopping experience.
“The response has honestly been unbelievable. So many people showed up to the pop-ups that I was able to scale incredibly quickly, and within six months I’d raised enough money to open a permanent shop.”
Sarah J Maas is thought to have sold more than 75 million books worldwide. Her fantasy series, including A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City, have been translated into 40 languages.
Her readership is heavily driven by the BookTok community on social media, and she frequently tops the charts as one of the bestselling living fantasy authors.
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO
News Editor
NETGEAR has launched Insight 10.0, a new version of its cloud network management platform. The release marks its latest push into AI-led network operations for small and medium-sized businesses and managed service providers.
The updated platform is aimed at organisations managing increasingly complex networks as they add cloud services, connected devices, AI applications and staff working across multiple locations. Insight 10.0 is designed to help smaller IT teams handle those demands through greater automation and a single management interface.
Insight 10.0 adds what NETGEAR describes as AI-powered operations, with tools intended to spot issues earlier, surface contextual information, and guide administrators through troubleshooting and routine tasks. NETGEAR is positioning the platform as a step beyond basic monitoring and control, arguing that network management systems increasingly need to identify anomalies and suggest responses rather than simply report status.
That approach reflects a broader shift in the networking market, as suppliers use AI to reduce the manual work required to run distributed infrastructure. For smaller businesses and service providers, the pitch is that this can narrow the gap with larger companies that have dedicated networking teams.
The platform also focuses on unified visibility across network performance, device health, connectivity and user experience. Administrators can manage multiple sites, devices, users and customer environments from one cloud-based system.
Another part of the update is a redesign intended to simplify administration at scale. Insight 10.0 includes revised workflows, streamlined navigation, flexible access controls and simpler subscription management, with the aim of reducing the operational burden on lean IT teams and managed service providers.
Market focus
NETGEAR has framed the launch around the needs of SMEs and MSPs, two segments that often lack the staff and resources available to larger enterprises. As more smaller organisations rely on digital tools across several locations, vendors have increasingly packaged centralised network management into cloud services that are easier to deploy and maintain.
Built on NETGEAR’s cloud architecture, Insight 10.0 is intended to provide centralised management across distributed environments. The company also described the platform as the foundation for its longer-term direction in AI operations and AI-defined networking.
Pramod Badjate, President and GM of NETGEAR Enterprise, set out the company’s view of where the market is heading.
“The future of networking is about giving organizations the intelligence to operate increasingly complex environments with confidence. As AI transforms every business, networks must become more adaptive, more automated, and easier to operate. Insight 10.0 is the foundation for our vision of AIOps and AI-defined networking for the millions of small and medium-sized organizations that have historically been underserved by enterprise networking solutions. We’re bringing enterprise-class intelligence to businesses without enterprise-sized IT teams,” said Pramod Badjate, President and GM, NETGEAR Enterprise.
User feedback
NETGEAR also pointed to input from CTI, which said it had used NETGEAR switches in its own locations and had been involved in testing the platform during its beta phase. That suggests the company sought partner feedback on practical issues such as deployment, troubleshooting and configuration before launch.
“We’ve had NETGEAR switches deployed across our own locations for years, and we’ve been part of the Insight development process since beta. So when we recommend Insight 10.0 to customers, we’re recommending something CTI actually runs on. The 10.0 release reflects the feedback we gave – the interface is sharper, onboarding is faster, and the platform handles the two things that cost integrators the most time: post-deployment troubleshooting and manual network configuration. That’s a meaningful change, and it shows up in how we deliver,” said Kenny Red, CTO at CTI.
Founded in 1996, NETGEAR sells networking products for businesses, homes and service providers. In the business market, its portfolio includes switches, routers, access points, software and AV over IP products, with Insight serving as the cloud management layer across those deployments.
The launch underlines how even suppliers focused on the SME market now treat AI-driven administration as a core part of network management rather than an added feature. NETGEAR said Insight will be the platform through which it delivers the next phase of networking, security, cloud and AI integration for smaller organisations and service providers worldwide.
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