Case Study

Having grown up in Sunderland, studying at the University was a natural choice. Staff from the University frequently came to my school to deliver talks and I had also visited the campus when they held events for schools. This spurred on in me a fascination with academia.

The University of Sunderland offers an excellent Top-Up degree in which you study the final year of a Bachelors qualification after completing a HND. Despite having no knowledge on systems development prior to standing my HND, through the excellent support and tuition from the staff at the University, I achieved a 1st class honours in my BSc (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering (Top-Up) course. I then decided to enrol onto MSc Cybersecurity, in which I gained a distinction, and I am now working towards a PhD in Computing, as well as working at the University as an academic tutor.

It became apparent during my time on my BSc that a career in academia was a target to aim for. This became further reinforced during the completion of the MSc Cybersecurity degree which enabled me to evolve and adapt in the world of computing, in terms of turning from a technical-centred approach to a human-centred approach to cybersecurity. My Masters project focused upon Threat Sharing Platforms, which I am further working on during my PhD. The University is very supportive when it comes to research and further development, in addition to providing funding to attend conferences. Sunderland has really supported my aim of a career in academia.

My main career aim now is to complete my PhD, aim to gain the role of a lecturer and push towards a professorship.

Going from joining the University for a BSc in Computing Systems Engineering and worrying if I was good enough, to coming out with a first in every module, then studying an MSc in Cybersecurity and achieving a distinction in every module was exhilarating. All of this would not have been possible without the University of Sunderland and their amazing staff, fantastic facilities and support, it’s a huge honour to be a member of this community.”

Published 12 June 2020