My name is Kelly Hunter. I studied twice at Fife College. The first-time round was right out of high school, and I studied an NC in Social Sciences, and progressed onto an HNC, and then afterwards I took a break out of academia for a few years. I came back to study the NC in Computing with Digital Media.
And that basically looked at a whole host of web technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and that was quite an illuminating course to study. It progressed me on to study HND in Software Engineering, where I achieved two As. And that then progressed me to university.
During the HND, I studied a whole host of stuff to do with database management, design and software, and object-oriented programming. I learned a lot at Fife College, just learning the fundamentals to more in-depth applications. And I joined the Associate Student Scheme with Fife College, which led me to Napier University. Without that, I wouldn't have got to Napier.
I graduated as of this year from Napier with a first class degree in Software Engineering, achieving over 70% in all of my modules. And I applied for a PhD in August, which I was accepted for within a couple of weeks. And I've now just started that.
So my journey has been pretty non-linear, but it just shows you that you can get to where you want to go no matter what your path is.
Currently, the technology field is very male-dominated, and it's so important for women to be encouraged to progress into tech and STEM. I've experienced it myself. Going to university and even college, there's a lot more men than there are women, so it can feel a bit daunting. But don't let that discourage you. Go ahead, put yourself out there and join. And you'll find that you will excel if you have the right attitude.
So for me, it's really important for women to be in technology because we have good heads on our shoulders. And I think the more women, the better, the more diverse it will be.
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HND computing software development with data analytics
This course, developed in response to the current shortage of skilled software developers in Scotland, offers an introduction to software development. It will introduce you to a range of subjects and skills that contribute to the design and development of good quality software.