Laura Collins
“I founded UWE Bristol’s Women in Tech network, creating a supportive community where women can increase their visibility, share expertise and grow in confidence"
Part of the Tech Women Celebration 50 – a curated list of some of the most inspirational women working at all levels of tech
Laura Collins is a Senior Project Manager at UWE Bristol with more than 11 years’ experience delivering complex digital transformation programmes across higher education. She specialises in leading large-scale change and bringing business and technology teams together to deliver meaningful improvements for staff and students.
Alongside her programme work, Laura is a passionate advocate for mentoring, inclusion and developing future talent. She founded UWE Bristol’s Women in Tech network and was invited to speak at Jisc’s International Women’s Day event about mentoring women in technology.
Following a late ADHD diagnosis, Laura is also passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive ways of working that help others realise their potential while delivering lasting organisational change.
Tell us about your biggest achievement to date
My biggest achievement has been building influence beyond my formal role to help others thrive in technology while delivering complex digital transformation. Alongside leading strategic CRM and digital change programmes, I have consistently created opportunities for others to develop.
I founded UWE Bristol’s Women in Tech network, creating a supportive community where women can increase their visibility, share expertise and grow in confidence. I was invited to speak at Jisc’s International Women’s Day event on mentoring, sharing practical approaches with around 30 attendees. More recently, our HR team invited me to deliver a project management workshop to 32 colleagues, reflecting my commitment to developing capability across the organisation.
My work was also recognised when I was named ITS Colleague of the Year for driving meaningful organisational change and improving how teams work together. I am most proud that my impact is measured not only by successful projects, but also by the confidence, opportunities and career progression of the people I have supported. For me, technology leadership means creating lasting change by enabling others to succeed.
What is the most significant challenge you have overcome?
One of the biggest challenges I have overcome has been believing that I didn’t belong in technology. I entered IT from a non-technical background and, for many years, assumed that successful people in tech had computer science degrees or highly technical expertise. It took confidence, resilience and support to realise that strategic thinking, leadership and the ability to bring people together are equally valuable in digital transformation.
More recently, a late ADHD diagnosis helped me understand many of the challenges I had quietly navigated throughout my career. Rather than seeing it as a limitation, I used it as an opportunity to develop new ways of working, lead more authentically and encourage others to embrace different strengths.
These experiences have strengthened my commitment to mentoring, creating inclusive environments and showing other women that there is no single route into technology. I hope my journey encourages others who feel they do not fit the traditional mould to step forward with confidence.
Tell us something about you people would find surprising
Many people are surprised to learn that alongside my career in technology, I’m also a qualified yoga teacher. While project management and yoga might seem worlds apart, they have more in common than people expect. Both require calm under pressure, adaptability, self-awareness and the ability to create environments where people can do their best work.
I have delivered workplace wellbeing sessions, written about resilience for OM Yoga Magazine and regularly draw on those skills to support teams through uncertainty and change.
I believe technology transformation is ultimately about people, not systems. Whether I’m leading a complex programme or facilitating a workshop, my aim is to help people feel confident, supported and able to thrive. That combination of strategic delivery and human-centred leadership is at the heart of how I lead.