Swansea University has awarded broadcaster and writer Carol Vorderman MBE an Honorary Doctor of Science degree in recognition of her services to broadcasting and STEM education.
The honour was conferred on Thursday 11 December during the University’s winter graduation ceremonies at the Great Hall on the University’s Bay Campus.
Honorary awards recognise individuals who have made outstanding achievements and significant contributions in their fields.
Born in 1960, Carol grew up in a single-parent family in poverty in north Wales. Despite early hardship, she excelled academically and gained a place at the University of Cambridge to study engineering at just 17.
Her early career included roles as a junior civil engineer at Dinorwig Power Station in Llanberis and later as a graduate management trainee in Leeds.
Carol’s television break came when her mother spotted an advert in The Yorkshire Post for “a woman with good mathematical skills” to co-host a new Channel 4 quiz show. She secured the role, becoming a household name as Countdown’s co-host from its launch in 1982 until 2008. In 2000, she was appointed MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Her passion for mathematics extends far beyond broadcasting. From 2009 to 2011, she chaired the government taskforce to improve maths education for children, and she later founded themathsfactor.com, which supported around half a million primary pupils during the Covid pandemic.
In 2021, Carol delivered an International Women’s Day lecture for Swansea University’s Computational Foundry, the hub for the university’s mathematics and computer science departments, sharing insights into her life, career and experiences as a woman in STEM.
Following her visit, discussions with staff and the Vice-Chancellor led to the creation of the Carol Vorderman Maths Access Bursary. Worth £2,000 each, the bursaries are open to applicants for mathematics or actuarial science undergraduate degrees, and 27 students have been supported to date.
Alongside her professional work, Carol is a committed fundraiser and serves as a patron of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association. She has also raised funds for the BUI Prostate Cancer Appeal and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Upon receiving her honorary award, Carol said: “It’s a privilege to be honoured by Swansea University. Our connection goes back many years, united by a passion for encouraging numeracy and mathematics in young people. It has brought me great joy to support mathematics students at Swansea through giving bursaries. I find our younger generation inspirational: bright, hardworking, talented, curious, creative, tolerant, and kind, with a big-picture perspective that my generation was not always encouraged to embrace. Thank you, Swansea, for bringing us together.”