I have over ten years professional experience of web and IT work. I graduated from the University of Plymouth with a degree in multimedia design and production.
I spent a year as a new media designer and then worked as a graphic designer and web developer. I’ve worked as an IT engineer and as a Marketing Manager, where I provided digital and traditional marketing expertise.
I’ve gained several qualifications in my spare time, including PHP and CMA certification and the Open University’s Certificate in Web Application Development.
I’m currently studying towards a degree in Computing with the Open University, a valuable experience both in terms of learning practical skills and how to manage your time and priorities.
I’m married and I have two sons, which means I don’t spend all my time in front of a computer 
My Open University qualifications
Degree in IT & Computing
So far I have completed programming courses in Java and Visual Basic, database theory, SQL language and Microsoft Server Technologies.
Certificate in Web Application Development
An excellent course covering the entire application development lifecycle with practical experience of client and server side programming, databases and web server configuration.
Read more about my Open University studies and the courses I have completed.
What I like
I like to learn and I like to be busy. I like it when technology is used to gain a real benefit and not just for the sake of it. I’m happiest immersed in HTML and digital marketing but have been fortunate to work on a broad range of tasks and projects. I like working with people who are enthusiastic, focused and happy in their work.
Degree in IT & Computing
2008 – Present
I’m studing towards this degree in my spare time and have already completed the Open Uni’s Certificate in Web Applications Development course.
Object-oriented programming with Java
The fundamental ideas behind object-oriented programming using the Java language.
Putting Java to work
A good grounding in many of the advanced facilities of object-oriented Java including inheritance, polymorphism, class libraries and the Java human-computer interface.
Relational databases: theory and practice
An advanced relational databases course, starting with database management systems and their facilities. This was followed by a theory of relations, underpinning topics such as data modelling and database architecture, SQL and the development of a practical database system. It also touched upon the role of JAVA and XML.
Designing applications with Visual Basic
More object-oriented programming, this time using VB to design and write small applications.
Microsoft server technologies
This course covers Windows Server 2008 Active Directory configuration and network configuration. The syllabus closely follows the Microsoft Official Academic Course (MOAC) used for the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist exams.
IT project and service management
I aim to start this course later in the year. The course covers project management with an emphasis on managing software projects. The second part of the course covers the ITIL Service Management framework.
Certificate in Web Applications Development
2006 – 2008
An Open University course that covers the web application development process, including PHP programming, database design and open source development and versioning tools.
Web applications: design, development and management
An introduction to web application design and development including usability, HTML and CSS.
Result: Distinction
The client-side of application development
Designing and developing client-based applications using JavaScript.
Result: Grade 2 pass
The server-side of application development
Exploring the role of the server in web applications and using Active Server Pages to create dynamic Web pages.
Result: Distinction
Databases within website design
This course introduces database design using entity-relationship diagrams and the construction of queries MySQL and Cold Fusion.
Result: Grade 2 pass
Open source development tools
This course introduces the origins and aims of open source software, and its principles of software development and distribution. The course provides practical experience of CVS, PHP, MySQL and Apache.
Result: Distinction
Web server management, performance and tuning
This course explores the role of server administration and its contribution to planning, deployment, and management of a web application. It introduces tools and techniques to assist with capacity planning, monitoring of workloads, identification of performance bottlenecks, and security failures.
Result: Distinction
