Below is a limited version of Daniel Robson's CV. If you would like to get in touch with him to discuss a project or for any other reason, please send your e-mails to this address: daniel@shock-therapy.org
I am currently a second year Computer Science student at the University of Manchester, working at a high 2:1 level (based on first year examination results). The course covers essential topics such as software development, hardware design, system architecture and networking, placing emphasis on managing your own time and workload while at the same time supplying ample opportunities to work within a group to achieve a common goal.
During the latter years of the course emphasis shifts to providing you scope to expand on your own interests, and I personally plan to tailor my course towards studying Cryptography and Network Security. I also intend to take a year out in industry during my third year, hopefully in a field related to digital forensics.
During my study at Oadby Beauchamp College I managed to achieve four A-Levels and one A/S level, namely: Computing (A), English Language (A), Physics (C), Mathematics (D) and Psychology A/S (Grade B)
I studied for my GCSEs at the Robert Smyth School in Market Harborough, during which period I managed to obtain a total of twelve and a half GCSEs (5 A*s, 5 As and 2 ½ Bs). These included English Language(A*), Mathematics / Statistics (A/A) and double ICT (A/A).
In addition to this, as a member of the now defunct National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth I was also offered the opportunity to take an Open University course entitled 'Robotics and the Meaning of Life' (T184). As the concept of artificial intelligence was and continues to be an area of interest for me, I took up the offer and completed the twelve week course with a mark of just over 70%, equivalent to a first in a 10 credit course on a standard University course.
During the summer of 2006 I helped out at a camp for blind and partially sighted children in Romania, taking responsibility for a group of 8-13 year old children for a week. Primarily this involved planning and coordinating various activities with other group leaders in order to assure the children were well taken care of, and had the best time possible.
Over the last two years I've supplemented my income by bidding on freelance work offered through the Rent-A-Coder site. During this period I've taken on over a dozen various jobs, ranging from proofreading and writing marketing copy to creating, supporting and modifying web-based applications. I have received uniformly excellent feedback from my clients, with every customer to date rating me ten out of a possible ten when asked to quantify their satisfaction with my work.
Aside from improving my technical skills, I believe that these projects have also helped me develop better time management and customer relations skills. I have had experience working with clients to better specify vaguely defined requirements, as well as working under pressure to meet a deadline. In one instance I managed to brainstorm ideas for a radio advert with a client, write the advert itself and then help them source voice talent for the advert within the 24 hour deadline the client had set.
[Work Experience Removed from Online Version]
From the age of 13 to 17 I was a member of the Air Training Corps, managing to achieve the rank of Corporal before leaving. While part of 1084 squadron I was a key member of the squadron band, playing at events as diverse as the Royal International Air Tattoo, Disneyland Paris and the annual Poperinge carnival in Belgium. We also won the national ATC band competition in 2004, and got through to the finals on several other occasions. Within the ATC I also managed to achieve the classification of Staff Cadet, which is roughly equivalent to an NVQ Level III in Aeronautical studies.
For the past three years of so I have been running a small, reasonably successful personal website (www.shock-therapy.org), which averages somewhere in the region of three to four hundred unique visitors per day. As time has gone by and my programming skills have improved I have expanded it from a purely static website to a combination of static and dynamic content. Key among changes was the inception of the 'Futile Wanderings' project, an online system which allows users to create and expand upon their own 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books. With the release of the Facebook API I have recently converted this into a Facebook application, interfacing with the pre-existing Facebook system in order to allow people to more efficiently share their creations.
In addition to these achievements, I undertook a Silver Duke of Edinburgh award at the age of 16, taking responsibility for navigating my group of six for three days across the Peak District. I also have experience with the z/OS mainframe operating system from my participation in IBM's 2007 Student Mainframe Contest, and currently hold a valid UK drivers license.
Outside of work and academic circles I enjoy reading novels, in particular noir and science fiction, as well as cycling. I also have a fondness for strategy and squad-based tactical games, as I enjoy the thought that needs to go into making the right moves and quickly reacting to unexpected situations. I also have an extra-curricular interest in digital forensics, and I have experimented with Helix and other suites of forensic tools on my own time.
If you would like to search the site for something specific, please feel free to do so using the search feature below:
Hosted sites: Archival Science | Grub on a Grant | Uprise | the Halfwit Arcade | Aching Arms Puppet Team | Forums