Kelly Moore Named BCS Young IT Professional of the Year

On Thursday 21 June, Kelly Moore, software engineer at Kainos, picked up the award for Young IT Professional of the Year at the BCS Northern Ireland Awards 2018. Hosted this year at the Factory at Belfast's MAC, the prestigious awards are held by the Northern Ireland Branch of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, in partnership with Olenick. BCS is dedicated to making IT good for society, using the power of their network to enable positive, tangible change. The organisation champions the global IT profession and the interests of individuals engaged in that profession for the benefit of all. Young IT Professional of the Year recognises the future of the industry by championing those individuals who demonstrate youthful enthusiasm, outstanding commitment and achievement. Kelly's award recognises her clear commitment from the beginning of her career, the high level of professionalism in her day-to-day work and her significant contribution to on-going projects and Kainos' overall business. Since joining Kainos in 2014 on a placement year from Queen's University Belfast, Kelly has worked on a diversity of projects, from the Kainos Evolve healthcare platform to researching and testing future technologies as part of the Applied Innovation team. Right now, Kelly is specialising in AI and Machine Learning on various digital transformation projects with the NHS and public sector, offering customers an insight into how the technology of the future can help them to lead the next technological revolution. Alongside Kelly's day to day work, she has also been heavily involved with Kainos' unique Tech Outreach programme, and regularly represents Kainos at university open evenings and tech events, including recent talks at Queen's University Belfast, the University of Ulster and BelTech. Kelly also voluntarily works with Kainos' partners such as The Prince's Trust and Code Club, and has taken the lead on two Kainos Academy initiatives, AppCamp and A.I.Camp. Both camps gave Kelly the opportunity to share her knowledge with around 20 undergraduate students, educating and mentoring them through detailed programmes of study as they enhanced their technical skills, gained experience of a development environment and ultimately produced real-world products. Kelly has also been instrumental in closing the skills gap in machine learning, building practical exercises and designing a course for graduating engineers with only academic knowledge of the area. Kelly also identified an opportunity to increase colleagues' level of knowledge of machine learning, delivering training which has now been rolled out across the business. Now firmly established as a respected member of the Kainos team and of the wider tech community, Kelly continues to inspire the next generation outside Kainos. Kelly's rapid progress within Kainos, as well as her breadth of activity within the industry, is testament to her reputation for professionalism, creativity and proactivity.