Ann Copestake received her degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, and after a period working in industry also obtained her Diploma in Computer Science from the University. In 1985, she commenced research in Natural Language Processing/Computational Linguistics at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. In 2000, Copestake became a University Lecturer at Cambridge, and is now Professor of Computational Linguistics. In 2018, she became the first female Head of Department of Computer Science and Technology.