Loretta Bortey

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning PhD

Loretta lost her mum at a young age and grew up not having much, but with the support of her friends and family she’s been able to pursue her goals and study Big Data science in the UK. She is leading by example and won the Sir Lenny Henry Award for Diversity and Inclusion for her work inspiring young girls in Ghana to go into STEM careers.

“I’m motivated by the opportunity to explore uncharted territories and address unanswered questions. I see research as a way to make a meaningful difference in the world. Whether it's contributing to scientific breakthroughs, solving complex societal problems, or improving the lives of individuals, I want to be a part of that process.

I’m currently using my knowledge of machine learning and artificial intelligence to impact the health and safety needs of the built environment by building a predictive model for highway workers. I like the fact that I can positively influence health and safety while solving a real-world problem in a practical way.

I lost my mom at a young age and didn’t grow up with much. But I was lucky to have the best of friends who helped me get a scholarship to study in the UK. I’m so grateful for their support, they always push me to achieve greater heights.

When I was growing up, I didn’t really have any female role models working in IT. I ended up going into computer science because of my friends who were all boys. There were times when I wanted to change path and study something like international relations or law instead, but my friends kept pushing me to stay my course.

This made me release that what girls really need is motivation and encouragement to be there and be in that space, and that’s what I want to do for them. I was so fortunate to have men in my life who wanted to empower me and now I want to do that for other girls. As I’m working in engineering, construction, and artificial intelligence myself, I can talk about it and show what you can achieve as a woman.

As well as working towards my PhD I also have a foundation back in Ghana which is inspiring and motivating young girls to study for STEM professions. It’s unlikely that parents of girls would recommend getting into data science or tech jobs, they’re more likely to think about more traditional jobs like being a doctor or a lawyer. The foundation aims to get them interested and show them that girls can have a career in STEM.

My proudest moment at BCU was winning the Sir Lenny Henry Award for Diversity and Inclusion for my work with the foundation. This was a great honour and meant so much. Winning this award showed what’s possible when you put your mind to something. Being nominated showed that people appreciate the work I put into the narrative of excellence for black women, and it gives me a reason to keep pushing and work even harder.”