Kate Bellingham

Kate Bellingham is a vibrant speaker and accomplished host, equally at ease addressing thought-leaders in industry and education as she is meeting young people in schools, colleges and universities. As the former National STEM Careers Coordinator and author of the report, ‘Discovering talent, developing skills’ Kate can act as an independent spokesperson on all issues around STEM education. She is an expert on all STEM issues affecting industry, institutions, young people and especially women in the UK today.

Kate Bellingham did not set out to become a TV presenter. She was ‘spotted’ whilst working for the BBC as an electronics engineer and invited to audition for a Schools TV programme, ‘Techno’. Having embarked on a career in ‘showbiz’, her engineering background, along with a degree in physics from Oxford University and experience as a computer programmer, came in useful during her four years as a presenter on ‘Tomorrow’s World’.  Kate went on to present her own weekly programme on Radio 5 Live, ‘The Big Bang’ on Children’s ITV and other programmes for the Open University, BBC Schools and Channel 5. Subsequent broadcasts included a seven-part science series for the Open University, an engineering series for the BBC2 ‘Learning Zone’, ‘Testing Times’, a series for Radio 4 about the challenges faced on major engineering projects and a series on maths for BBC Schools Radio.

In 1997 Kate was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Technology by Staffordshire University in recognition of this work. In 2003 she obtained an MSc in Electronics with distinction at the University of Hertfordshire and she also became a fully qualified maths teacher. In 2020 she embarked on a part-time PhD course at the Centre for Engineering Education at UCL.

A personal passion to champion opportunities in STEM, particularly for women, has led Kate to work with numerous organisations and companies including Young Engineers, the Women’s Engineering Society, the WISE Campaign, the Engineering Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institute of Physics and the Primary Science Teaching Trust.

Kate is a committed lifelong learner. She delayed her honeymoon to finish her A level French exams which she was studying for at evening classes, while working as a TV presenter. And while some people take a career break when starting a family, Kate took a part-time masters in Electronic Communication Systems and in 2003 gained her MSc with Distinction from the University of Hertfordshire.

To book Keynote Speaker Kate Bellingham, contact The Speakers Agency on +44(0)1332 810481 or email enquiries@thespeakersagency.com