About Me
My name is Chris Connor - I am a Glasgow based technology professional with over a decade of experience in the print/digital media/web design and development sector.
In 2011 I relocated to the United Arab Emirates, taking up a position as technology manager for a well-known printing company in the region. During my time in the role I was instrumental in driving change in the way the organisation used technology to reach business goals. From local network infrastructure upgrades to overhaulling the company web sites - I acheived a great deal during my time there.
I’ve always had a passion for programming and software development, having tinkered with hobby projects for over 15 years. In my technology management role I was given the opportunity to actively apply my knowledge on a number of small projects within the business, ranging from workflow and automation programming through to developing internal web applications.
Having witnessed first-hand a noticeable shift towards online ordering and the role software solutions have to play in transforming businesses across industries, I returned to Scotland in 2015 to obtain a degree in Software Development, with the ultimate goal of pursuing a career in the field.
Having graduated from City of Glasgow College in 2016 with a Higher National Diploma in the top percentile of the cohort, I am now entering my final year at Glasgow Caledonian University Scotland and am currently on track to graduate July 2019 with a projected first-class honours degree in Computing (Software Engineering).
Education
Glasgow Caledonian University
BSc Computing (Hons) • Projected 1:1 • October 2017 - July 2019
To-date, Glasgow Caledonian University has provided opportunities to learn a wide range of subjects and technologies. From low-level systems programming in C through to the latest technologies and frameworks. Working alongside my peers in group projects has given me the chance to experience contributing to software projects as a team; one of our projects was even selected as one of four competition finalist from over twenty teams. I am currently on track to graduate in July 2019 with a strong First Class Honours Degree.
Web Design Technologies Systems Programming in C IT Project Management Web Platform Development Integrated Team Project Research, Professionalism and Ethics Client-side Software Development Secure Software Development Mobile Development Cloud Platform Development
City of Glasgow College
HND Software Development • A Grade • September 2015 - June 2017
My time at City of Glasgow College (CoGC) proved hugely benefitial in smoothing my return to higher education after some eight+ years in the workplace. The team at CoGC delivered a hands-on approach to teach Software Engineering and Development; affording students the opportunity to explore tecnologies in-depth such as Java and C#/.NET MVC. The course culminated in an extensive HND personal project which really pushed the boundaries of our knowledge resulting some top-quality projects. I graduated from CoGC on the top percentile of my cohort.
Object-Oriented Analysis and Design Object-Oriented Programming Event-driven Programming Android Development Professionalism and Ethics Big Data Databases: SQL Multi User Operating Systems Project Management for IT Team Working in Computing Data Structures and Algorithms
Work
Spectrum Digital Print Solutions
Print Technology Manager • October 2011 - Present• Dubai, U.A.E.
In my role as Print Technology Manager, I oversee various aspects of technology throughout our group of companies; from local network infrastructure, through to in-house applications and customer facing web sites and portals. During my time at Spectrum, I have been the catalyst for a great deal of change within the business. I migrated the entire group to enterprise-level email infrastructure. In addition, I completely re-designed and re-built our customer-facing websites as well as a number of small in-house applications.
Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre
Senior Solutions Developer • March 2007 - October 2011• Glasgow, Scotland
During my time at GSPC, I gained a huge amount of knowledge and experience whilst working across many different functions throughout the business. Based in the Web2Print Department, I specialised in designing and developing XML variable data templates for use within our online ordering system. This allowed end-users to customize and order printed sales and marketing collateral directly in their browsers. In latter years, due to my excellent communication skills and good customer rapport, I was also responsible for providing training to customers on our systems.
Skills
Throughout my time at College and University, I've had the opportunity to grow and build upon my skill set. I am constantly learning and evolving my skills based on industry trends and I enjoy enrolling in online courses and building small, personal projects to keep my knowledge fresh and current. Below is a brief snapshot of some of the tools and technologies I have worked with recently.
Milestone Tracker
This web application was developed as part of a University Module. The system was built using Java Servlets and runs on a Jetty server utilising a MySQL database. The front-end was completely bespoke and built from scratch using HTML, CSS and Javascript..
Web Development, Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Jetty, MySQL
Aileron Airways
This web application was built in a team as part of a University competiton in conjunction with Ideagen Ltd. Built using Angular, this application was designed to log and visualise incidents in the airline industry. The interface was completely bespoke and was built using HTML and SASS. The application made it to the final and was demonstrated to company executives at Ideagen head offices in Glasgow..
HTML, CSS, Angular, SASS, Web Development, Javascript, Typescript
Lomond Adventure
This web application was developed in conjunction with a University Module on Web Design. Built using PHP, HTML, CSS and JS, the aim of this project was to take a concept from wireframing and high-level design mockups through to development and deployment. In addition to the main site, there was also a completely bespoke back-end management system which powered the site..
PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, MySQL, AdobeXD
Space-age Calculator
This application was designed and developed as an application for a hackathon. The company issued a brief to develop a space-age calculator which would calculate a person\s age on the various planets using different parameters. This was designed and developed completely from scratch without any frameworks or libraries..
HTML, CSS, SASS, Javascript, Hackathon, AdobeXD
College Graded Unit
This was an extensive application developed as part of my final-year HND college project. Developed using Laravel, a PHP Framework, this project took over 7 months to design and built. The system was an MIS system designed for a printing company which allowed multiple user-roles to carry out various functions within the application. There was also a payment gateway integration which allowed end-users to settle invoices via credit card..
Laravel, PHP, HTML, CSS, SASS, Payment Gateway, OOD, OOP
Scotia Airlines
This application was developed in conjunction with a College module on Java object-oriented development. Built using the Java Spring Framework, the system was a booking system for a ficticious airline company. The system allowed users to add various flight configurations and allow them to manage various aspects of flight booking including reserving, booking and cancelling seats. The system also facilitated the management of the flight status including opening, boarding, and closed flights..
Java, Spring, HTML, CSS, SASS, SQL
Glasgow City Council
This application was developed in conjunction with a College module on mobile application development using Android Studio. Built using Java, the application was design to allow users to rate local attractions within Glasgow City Council Area. Users were able to login, view attraction in various categories and also rate and comment on each attraction..
Java, Android Studio, Mobile, App Development, Mobile ApplicationTestimonials
Contact Form
To get in contact with me, you can use the form below to send me a message. Alternatively, feel free to follow me on my various social media channels which can be found at the bottom of this page.