Tom Crick

Crick was raised and educated in Wheatley, Oxfordshire. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in computer science at the University of Bath, having been sponsored through his undergraduate degree by ARM. == Career ==

After a period as a postdoctoral researcher on ALIVE, a European Commission FP7-funded project at the University of Bath, Crick was appointed lecturer in computer science at Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2009, before being promoted to full professor in 2016. He was recognised as a UK National Teaching Fellow in 2014. He moved to a research chair at Swansea University in 2018, becoming Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Civic Mission from 2021-2023. He was appointed Professor of Digital Society and Policy at the University of Bristol in January 2026. Government service In November 2023, Crick joined the UK Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as Chief Scientific Adviser. His responsibilities include supporting the design, governance, assurance and deployment of complex socio-technical AI-enabled systems across areas such as media, culture, the creative industries, sport and civil society, and contributing to cross-government scientific advisory structures that promote high-quality, evidence-based policymaking. for a three-year term. He has also served in a number of senior elected positions in the Association for Computing Machinery, including Vice-Chair of ACM Europe Council and a Member-at-Large of ACM Council. Crick is editor-in-chief (2021–present) of The Computer Journal, published by Oxford University Press, and an editor (2020–present) of the Wales Journal of Education, published by University of Wales Press. == Computing education and digital skills ==

Crick has been involved with the reform of the school-level science and technology curriculum in Wales since 2010. In 2013, he was appointed by the Welsh Government to chair an independent review of the ICT curriculum in Wales. Crick concluded that the existing curriculum did not adequately equip learners with the digital skills required for contemporary education and employment. This work treated digital education and skills provision as a large-scale socio-technical system, integrating curriculum design, assessment, teacher capability and supporting digital infrastructure. in Wales, which elevated digital competence (the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to be confident in the use of technologies) to the same statutory position as literacy and numeracy in the new Curriculum for Wales. It outlined how schools could incorporate student-centred digital competency into their local curriculum. His efforts united the traditional sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) with computer science and design & technology. The new curriculum was published in January 2020 and started phasing in for all schools in Wales from September 2022 onwards. Crick was also appointed Chair of the National Network of Excellence in Science & Technology, a £4m Welsh Government strategic investment which focused on supporting STEM teachers in partnership with higher education institutions. Crick also chaired Qualification Wales’ 2018 review of ICT sector qualifications, which reported that they were outdated and needed considerable reform, resulting in new GCSE and A-Level qualifications in Digital Technology from 2021 onwards. == Non-executive and board-level roles ==

Crick was a non-executive director of Swansea Bay University Health Board from 2017 to 2024, an inaugural Commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales from 2018 to 2022, and a non-executive director of Industry Wales from 2021 to 2024. Alongside being a Vice-President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, he was a trustee from 2013 to 2020. He has previously been a trustee of the British Science Association and the Campaign for Science and Engineering (both 2011–2017)., and was appointed a trustee of Cumberland Lodge in 2024. Crick has been a non-executive director of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water since 2017. == Awards and honours ==

• 2011: British Science Association Media Fellow with BBC Wales • 2013: Worshipful Livery company of Wales Gold Award • 2014: HEA National Teaching Fellow • 2020: British Educational Research Association Public Engagement and Impact Award • 2020: Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales • 2022: IET Achievement Medal • 2022: Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences • 2023: BCS Lovelace Medal • 2024: British Science Association Honorary Fellow ==References==