I think I was born an engineer - I've had a fascination with technology and innovation since as long ago as I can remember, and I've always been a tinkerer - constantly seeing ways in which things could be improved. This culminated in my application to study Engineering Design at the University of Bristol from 2003 to 2007. I specialised in Design Information Systems in my final year; my specialism gave me a grounding in information processing, database design and human-computer interaction, but the nature of the course was such that I have a broad understanding of the technical and non-technical issues involved in a wide variety of engineering disciplines.

My real-world engineering experience is primarily in embedded software development - I spent two years working in the Group Software department of Renishaw Plc. as part of their Embedded Sofware Development team, having spent a year as an undergraduate placement student in the same department. I worked on a variety of microprocessor platforms including Microchip PIC micros and Blackfin DSPs, and developed real-time code in C, C++ and assembly languages. As well as embedded development, I created a number of test interfaces and PC-to-device communication stacks using the Microsoft .NET framework.

I have also worked at Motorola's Swindon offices, and undertook work experience with a small engineering consulting firm, Design & Projects Ltd., based in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

I'm an Associate Member of the British Computer Society.