Case Study

Because I had been programming and building basic websites from the age of 12, I felt that doing a Computer Science degree was my best option. After doing research on various universities it was clear Sunderland had the best all-around course for programming and preparing me for the industry.

Professor Yonghong Peng was my supervisor during my dissertation, he noticed that my skills could help another professor in prototyping an API driven data capture and analysis system, tracking runners around Sunderland, and producing socially influenced art based on feedback from runners in the area.

This was my first introduction to Duncan McDonald, Uni4Talent Team Leader, who would become an instrumental part of the start of my career. As soon after my internship with the Professor came to an end he introduced me to one of the managers at KP Snacks.

After that, I worked for KP for nine months, with meetings, and conversations at KP, I played a key role in creating a new data capture system. This system is still used 12 months after I finished the project.

I was brought in as a software developer in the R&D team and it’s been a great experience working for GTM. Being on an R&D team is the perfect role as it allows for creative ideas, producing various software systems and products to show management and inspire new ideas for the teams and it helps greatly in bringing the manufacturing into the future where data capture and analysis, manageability and reliability are paramount.

I have recently been branching out to fully understand every team’s role in the company to get a picture of the possibilities in producing other systems that can assist in creating new workflows that reduce time wastage and improve employee satisfaction. 

Achieving my ideal job through Uni4Talent would not have been possible without all of the practical work experience I was able to access during my time at the University and helped me understand how valuable my skills are to an employer in the IT and software industry.

The Uni4Talent team understand what you want, what your capabilities are and what your end goal is. They will do everything to show you relevant roles with their clients that suit your needs, set up the interviews, help you all the way through to the interview, it’s as simple as that, and is a must for any student that wants a step up on everyone else.

The University opened my eyes to the wide range of career opportunities that are available, from creating robotics to creating software packages and websites. The University was very enjoyable as after learning three or so programming languages and developing with them, it was clear by the end I could find a job that I was happy doing.

Take in the full experience from the social aspects of the course, don’t stress about not getting the grade you wanted; go back to the drawing board, find out what went wrong and what went right, fix your weak links and you will get a First Class degree without a doubt."

Published 22 May 2019