alex latchford

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Alex Latchford

Address: 225 Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 4RE

Phone: Available on request.

Email: Available on request.

Driving License: Full, Clean UK License.

Profile

I am an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual, actively seeking a graduate computing placement. I have excellent team-working, problem solving and communication skills, thus I am equally happy working in a group situation or using my own initiative. I am experienced with Linux and web based applications, but I also enjoy new and challenging subjects.

Education and Qualifications

University: October 2007 - Present: Nottingham Trent, BSc Computer Science. Modules studied include:
Year 3: Computational Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Advanced Analysis & Design, Distributed Object Computing and a Final Year Project.
Year 2: Operating Systems Software, Applied Mathematics & Graphics, Professional Issues, Further C++ Programming, Information & Database Engineering and Software Engineering. Overall mark was 76% (First).
Year 1: Fundamentals of Computing, System Analysis & Design, Mathematics for Computing, Personal & Professional Development and Introduction to C++ Programming. Overall mark was 85% (First).
A-Levels: Computer Science C, Physics D, Maths (AS C) and Photography (AS B).
GCSE's: 11, including an A in Maths and Triple Award Science grades.

Employment History

Junior Developer (Intern) - (Jun 2009 - Jun 2010). Credit Suisse Private Bank. Working as part of a small, distributed development team primarily focussing on UNIX batch processing. I have also participating in a series of managed projects incorporating C#, .NET and Sybase/Oracle. Being a global team I quickly learnt to work to time zones, to prioritise for key hand overs and to become accountable as code reviews often occurred.
Web Designer - (Jul 2007 - Sep 2007). Zoomf.com. Zoomf are a startup company, whilst there I learnt a lot about how to communicate within a small team. A lot of the time the team was fragmented across many places, as such I quickly learnt to draw accurate user requirements in order to deliver the correct solution determined by our funders and a superior product to our competitors.
Independent Web Programmer - (2004 - 2007). Various. Being self-employed I had to manage time carefully in order to finish projects on time, this meant juggling the requirements for the projects around my normal life. Also I learnt how to build up a relationship with the client I was working for in order to deliver the product they wanted, not the one I wanted to build.

Voluntary Contributions

I have been involved in a number of internet based, open source projects. These include:

GLMW County Scouts - (Aug 09 - Present) Specifying and developing a website for a series of small, inter-connected volunteer teams. Working with prototypes I continually developed the site until each aspect met the requirements that emerged as the development sparked ideas.
Ubuntu Linux Mozilla Council - (Aug 06 - Nov 07) I helped managing bugs, documentation and communications on Mozilla Software in the Ubuntu Linux Distribution. Whilst there I contributed to 3 successful releases.

Technical Skills

advanced

C/C++
PHP
(X)HTML, CSS
SQL
XML
Linux, UNIX

competent

Javascript / jQuery
RDF / Semantic Web
SOAP Webservices
Open / Microsoft Office
Oracle, Sybase & MySQL
Windows (XP, 7)

Java
C#
AJAX
Bsh / Ksh
Apache

Most of the languages I have learnt I have taught myself. The languages learnt reflect the projects that I have worked on and also computing aspects that interest me.

Achievements

In April 2007 I completed my Queen's Scout Award. To achieve it I undertook a variety of challenges which included 18 months of service, skill and sport, as well as an expedition and a residential project. I helped out at a cub pack, continued to teach myself web programming and I attended life-saving classes, where I gained the Award of Merit and first aid courses, where I gained the Life Support 3 award. For the expedition I travelled to Switzerland where, in the Bernese Oberland mountains, I completed a 50 mile hike across the mountains in 4 days. Since then I have helped out at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party and at Windsor Castle parades with other Queen's Scouts.

Also in 2006 I was selected to complete the Fulcrum Challenge which supports a number of development projects in remote parts India and Eastern Africa. I was given four months to raise £2000, this paid for my costs and those of the work we did, which was to help build an orphanage. Whilst there I lead the entire workforce for a day and gained my CoPE Leadership Training Level 3 in the process. It was undoubtedly a very hard task, but one that really taught and tested my persistence, reliability, creativity and leadership skills.

Interests and Activites

I currently play 5-a-side football weekly in an evening league and in the past swam with a local club, also played rugby for a number of years. I have also skied all my life and enjoy playing basketball whenever I get the time.

I have worked on open source software now for the past 8 years and I have developed code for several projects. With phpBB, a web forum solution, I would help fix user modification problems and for OpenDocumentPHP, an implementation of the OpenDocument format, I was responsible for managing and implementing parts of the specification. I used to hold a position on the Ubuntu Linux Mozilla Council where I would work with others across the globe to fix issues in the web browser and email client for the distribution.

I have been an active member of the Scout Association for over 15 years. I have worked my way through all the sections and into the Scout Network where I am a co-ordinator responsible for organising all financial and administration activities. I also now help out the younger sections, especially when they go on camps or trips.

Referees

Available on request.

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