#MeetAGradThursday — Christopher Paterson
I really enjoyed my time at Cardiff University where I studied Computer Science with a year in industry, achieving a First Class. In my final year I created GeoSnap, a location aware photo sharing application for iOS. This project provided me with the opportunity to learn Swift and iOS while working on a real project. After 3 years of exams and coursework, I was finally ready to go out into industry and apply what I had learned.
I spent my year in industry on the pilot year for what is now the National Software Academy, during which I worked alongside the Alacrity Foundation making Android and web applications for various clients. The process of meeting and working with clients to develop what they needed really helped motivate me to push myself to improve on each project. The thing I enjoyed the most was the culture; we had the freedom to experiment with the things we had learnt while making a real impact on what we were creating. I knew that the Alacrity Foundation would allow me to do the same, so joining after graduation was a no-brainer.
So far I have been at the Alacrity Foundation for around two months. During this time I have designed and built a website, worked through several business model canvases, and had a number of excellent mentoring sessions. These mentoring sessions have given me an insight into the bigger picture of running a businesses, helping to keep things in perspective. Overall I’m excited to spend the next year working with awesome people to develop interesting ideas.
Music is a big part of my life. I have been playing guitar since I was 7 and will listen to anything (except country). I enjoy reading, mostly sci-fi but sometimes technical books sneak in. Recently I have been interested in design, in particular web and mobile.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Chris Paterson
Technical Lead, Team 14
Twitter: @_ChrisPaterson
Github: chris-paterson
