Making Digital Work for You

We are delighted to welcome the highly acclaimed Dr.  Raoul-Gabriel Urma, who will be speaking at this event. Raoul is an EdTech entrepreneur, author, international speaker, and lecturer. He founded and leads Cambridge Spark, an education technology company focused on upskilling workforces through cutting-edge data and AI programs for multinational employers.

Driven by a passion for helping businesses thrive in a rapidly evolving tech landscape, Raoul ensures that data and AI training deliver real-world value. His approach tackles practical challenges, encourages employee retention, and positions organisations for scalable growth and long-term success.

Since its founding in 2016, Cambridge Spark has partnered with clients such as M&S, Aviva, Lloyds Banking Group, and the BBC. The company has trained over 10,000 students and generated £300M+ in value for its clients. It also developed EDUKATE.AI, a patented data skills platform.

Raoul serves on the Advisory Board of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences, is an Industrial Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and is currently enrolled in Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program. Before founding Cambridge Spark, he led tech transformations for eBay, Goldman Sachs, Google, Morgan Stanley, and Oracle.

A skilled software engineer, Raoul created his first website at age eight. He has authored best-selling books like Modern Java in Action (60,000+ copies sold) and has published research cited over 700 times. Raoul holds an MEng from Imperial College London and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. In 2017, he was named an Oracle Java Champion for his contributions to the tech community.

Mike Spicer – Founder and Managing Director

Mike is an experienced economist, policy expert and advocate at the interface between business and government. Before founding PolicyDepartment in early 2020 Mike was Director of Economics, Policy and Research at the British Chambers of Commerce. He spent a decade at the BCC representing the interests of business to government and as its lead spokesperson on local growth issues. While at BCC, Mike set up the LEP Network – the association for Local Enterprise Partnerships in England (this has since evolved into the Business Board Network). His successful campaigns achieved policy changes across all areas of business life. Before BCC, Mike worked as Senior Strategy Executive at former UK Regional Development Agency EEDA. Mike started his career as an economist at commercial real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle and leading forecaster Cambridge Econometrics.  He studied economics at the University of Warwick and University of Bath, England and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

Hannah Lazarus – Labour Markets Research Associates

Hannah specialises in economic research and stakeholder engagement in local economic development. She is an expert on local labour markets and their impact on business growth.  Hannah started her career as an analyst in HM Treasury and has worked for a range of regional governmental organisations as an economist, including at the former East of England Development Agency.