UWTSD Applied Computing Blog

Our Faculty Research Seminar for December was held today.

Luca Pagano (Senior Research Engineer) spoke on “Non Destructive Testing” and ways to detect damage in composite materials, using applications such as aircraft wings, without the need to disassemble them.

Mr. Andrew Smith (Senior Lecturer, Open University) gave a talk on “Teaching with Twitter” – including teaching via many other social media outlets. Many colleagues from other Faculties (eg Education) also joined us today to hear his talk. Check him out on @OUCisco or @teraknor on Twitter.

Many thanks to both our speakers, very different subjects, but both very interesting talks.We will be posting the slides from these talks on Moodle soon in case you missed them!

As part of our Green Impact, we held another of our occasional lunchtime walks today. It was a lovely day and unseasonably warm (well, for December!) Taking part were staff members Sue Maw, Carlene Campbell and Gaynor Thomas, and Software Engineering Year 1 student Rory and Jonathan.

We walked up the hill from campus to the Mayhill Wildlife Corridor which has fantastic view over Swansea Bay, and less than a 10 minute walk from campus.

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Q. What is your Name? Robert Lewis

Q. What was your University course? BSc. Computer Networks

Q. What is your job title and role? Network Engineer

Q. Could you briefly describe the organisation you work for? SA1 Solutions – Providing server and network support for customers.

Q. Which skills learned at University are helpful to you in your job? Cisco qualifications which have proved incredibly useful in my line of work. A very good understanding of Network infrastructure and network security. Confidence in speaking to a group of people and clearly explaining your thoughts and views on something.

Q. Do you have a typical day and how would you describe it? One of the best things for working for my current employer is that there is no ‘Typical day at work’. Each day presents me with a new challenge whether it be a networking issue, a server issue or a telecommunications issue. In my capacity as Network Engineer, it is my duty to identify and resolve any issues within a timely manner. Other days consist of project work whether it be building phone systems in CentOS through the use of FreePBX or working on current network management systems.

Q. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most? Ability to work hands on with the latest equipment and the feeling of working as a part of a team.

Q. Do you have any advice for students who would like to start a Career? No one will go into a career knowing absolutely everything and that’s not a bad thing. The whole process is a learning curve and you will never stop learning, especially in the technology field as it progresses so quickly. You must always be confident in your own abilities. Finally, if you ever get an opportunity to do something that interests you, take it with both hands.

Q. What is your name?    Esam Mohamed M Naas

 Q. What was your University course?    MSc E Commerce Technology

 Q. What is your job title and role?    IT Coordinator/Systems Analyst & Developer

 Q. Could you briefly describe the organisation you work for?   Wall Colmonoy Limited is a pioneer company in alloys manufacturing and engineering

 Q. Which skills learned at University are helpful to you in your job?    Computer networking, advanced programming and web design

 Q. Do you have a typical day, and how would you describe it?    Yes, systems administration and network availability

 Q. What aspects of your job do you enjoy most?    Data analysis and extraction

 Q. Do you have any advice for students who would like to start a career?    Believe in yourself and learn everything related to your subject

Our MEng Applied Environmental Engineering students went on a trip yesterday. As part of their course, they study water treatment procedures and techniques. Today they toured the facilities at Gowerton Sewage Treatment Works, and also the Felindre Water Treatment Works, to see how industry handles water treatment. Here are a few photos of the day. 🙂 Many thanks to the staff at Gowerton and Felindre for showing us around their facilities.

The third-floor corridor in the School of Applied Computing was transformed into an unusual learning space this week for final-year students on the User Experience Design module.

To illustrate how to define an information architecture, Dr Nik Whitehead, Associate Professor, led the group of students in a hands-on card sorting exercise.  The aim was to consider the ways different types of user organise information, and to investigate the implications this has for website design.

The task the students were given was to structure a website in a logical order based on where user groups would expect to find the information they’re searching for.  Elements of the site were represented by colour-coded repositionable sticky notes, which were attached to the walls of the corridor.  By moving and sorting these, the students were able to optimise information-flow and user expectation in a highly visual and memorable way.

As well as discovering how to perform a card sort, this practical, collaborative – and fun – teaching technique enabled the students to learn from each other by observing and appreciating how differently each person approached the task.

The School of Applied Computing is delighted to announce the recent awarding of academic titles to two of their lecturers.

Dr Nik Whitehead has become Associate Professor, while Dr John Rees becomes Professor.

Dr Nik Whitehead, Associate Professor

Subjects taught by  Dr Whitehead, Associate Professor include Systems Analysis and Design,  Research Methods, Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence and Data Mining.

Before coming to UWTSD, she lectured in Newport and Aberdeen, and has also held the position of Head of School  for the School of IT in the Faculty of Business & Science, University of Akureyri, Iceland.

Her research interests include Data Visualisation, Usability, Human-Computer Interaction and Data Mining (astrostatistics).

Professor John Rees

Professor Rees teaches across a range of levels and disciplines in the School of Applied Computing.

He is an experienced research supervisor and examiner, and an active researcher and participant in external activities in support of businesses and the skills agenda.

Prior to coming to UWTSD in 2014, Professor Rees has held posts in the University of Glamorgan, Staffordshire University, Southampton Solent University and DSCIS.  He has previously held professorial title for ten years as Professor of Computing Enterprise at Staffordshire, and Professor of Business Technology at Solent.

The School of Applied Computing extends warm congratulations to them both.

The first in this session’s series of Research Seminars organised by the School of Applied Computing was held yesterday, when SoAC was delighted to welcome visiting speakers Dr Matthew Briggs and Mr Ashley Pullen.

Dr Briggs, Executive Research Development Officer at UWTSD, spoke on Open Access in the areas of research publications and research data significant developments.

Ashley Pullen,a PhD Research student from the School of Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics, then delivered an insightful resume of his research into Magnetic Flux Leakage.

Further Research Seminars this session will be held at 1pm on Wednesdays 16th November, 14th December, 18th January, 15th February, 15th March, 19th April and 17th May. 

The venue is Lecture theatre MH503 in the main block, Mount Pleasant Campus.  All are welcome – and there’s a free buffet lunch and tea/coffee. 

For further details, please contact Dr Carlene Campbell.