© 2016. All rights reserved except where otherwise stated.
© 2016. All rights reserved except where otherwise stated.
2014 – 2016
I took as diverse a selection of units as possible, ranging from database analysis and design to software security, in an effort to become a well-rounded independent developer while also satisfying my perrsonal curiosity. I'm driven to understand deep structures before I try and build on top of them. This sent me beyond the confines of the curriculum on many occasions, helping me to develop the discipline, insight and creativity required to solve problems independently.
As the 'capstone' unit of my degree I participated in the Industry Experience Studio Project, where I worked as part of a small team to conceive, design and develop an ASP.net web application leveraging open data provided data.gov.au, designed to allow users to identify suburbs or regional towns which have key services and conveniences (like schools, hospitals, sports clubs or disability services) specified by the user. We adopted an agile project methodology, and were privileged to work with 'industry mentors' from Cyara who volunteered their time to act as our product owners and guide us through the process from brainstorming, to 'pitch', to delivery and acceptance testing.
2013
My thesis was a replication and broad meta-study of research performed into the power dynamics of 'turn-taking' in group interactions. I utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a primary focus on the Conversation Analysis methodology, to analyse recorded interactions between Australians from a range of demographics. My initial intention was to pursue a PhD in this area; however a shortage of opportunities in this area ultimately motivated me to pursue other areas of study.
2008 – 2011
I pursued a degree in Arts initially as I wanted to explore a wide range of interests, developing my writing and communcation skills while developing an understanding of culture, history and society. My major in linguistics allowed me to explore 'hard science' approaches to an extent, and actually served me well when I subsequently transitioned to a STEM field. The basic principles of linguistics, especially syntax and semantics, are extremely helpful in learning new programming languages; a background in linguistics also fosters an analytical and theory-grounded mindset, and exposes ways in which complex systems can ultimately be reduced to systems of definable (and computable) rules. During my time studying linguistics, I became interested in computational linguistics, especially natural language processing and generative grammars.
As a volunteer at Agile Australia 2016, I helped to facilitate the 'deep dive' sessions, working to ensure they ran smoothly and that delegates had a great experience at the conference. I was privileged to have the opportunity to meet some of the speakers, and to meet people from all over Australia working in the field.