Robert Collcott's story
Robert Collcott's story
Robert, our BSc (Hons) Computing graduate, recently sat down and talked with us about his journey and experiences as a BNU student.
Robert decided BNU was the university he wanted to study at after learning about two key factors that we offer. He says ‘The family environment and ethos the university has with its staff and students, as well as the close proximity to London’ is what swayed it for him.
The range of traditional modules and modern computing topic modules that combined stood BNU and myself out from the crowd.
After graduating from his course in 2017, Robert has had many industry opportunities presented to him, including his first role as an IT Support intern at , an IT Deployment Technician for the NHS and a 1st Line Service Desk Engineer for a small to medium sized IT and telephony managed services provider. He also worked as a Microsoft collaboration tools solutions rollout and leader for local Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Forest of Dean region primary schools in the outsourced IT education sector. He mentions this career journey was made possible by ‘The range of traditional modules and modern computing topic modules that combined stood BNU and myself out from the crowd.’
Robert has also supported the NHS with bringing IT back in house from outsourced managed service providers, worked for a local university provider upgrading hardware and infrastructures. He now finds himself as a 2nd line IT engineer working for . Robert has also been on the USA based Sys Admin Show podcast talking about the following topic areas: and . Robert has also been personally selected by Microsoft US to become a Microsoft Imagine cup (student developer challenge) judge, where he was judging student ideas for all sorts of systems ranging from mobile apps, to modern artificial intelligence systems.
Throughout his time studying, Robert really made the most of the BNU experience. Not only did he earn the title of Microsoft Ambassador, he also jumped into fundraising activities, working open days and helping out at activities week. This earnt him a Student’s Union award for demonstrating ambassadorial qualities in promoting student involvement. Robert shared that ‘the range of university student roles I had, made me better at communicating with staff of all levels and working in teams, in both an academic and friendly environments.’
Like many of our alumni Robert compliments the level of teaching, hard work and great services on offer, saying; ‘Make the most of advice from lecturers, especially in planning assignments. Use the services available, including the Careers and Employability team; they are really helpful especially on input, advice and preparing your CV for employment.’
Your journey as a student with us is in your hands, how you experience it is up to you. Robert emphases the importance of ‘Find an even balance between studies, work and leisure. Also get involved, it makes you a more rounded graduate and gives you the opportunities to express and sell yourself well to potential employers.’