SOAS, University of London
- World-leading university specialising in the study of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
- Approximately 5,000-6,000 students from over 130 countries.
- Part of the University of London, contributing to a global academic network.
- Delivers distance learning and campus-based education to an international audience.
Transforming Distance Learning
Working as an Analyst Developer, I helped transform SOAS Distance Learning from a primarily Moodle-based learning platform into a comprehensive online student experience. This included enhancing Moodle, developing online registration, enrolment and administration functionality, integrating university systems, introducing modern engineering practices such as unit testing, and delivering reporting solutions to support both operational decision-making and statutory returns.
Modernising the Learning Platform
- Enhanced Moodle using JavaScript, Bootstrap, jQuery, AJAX, HTML and CSS to deliver a more responsive and engaging user experience.
- Developed online functionality supporting student registration, enrolment, administration and the wider student journey.
- Worked closely with academic and administrative staff to gather requirements and design new online services.
- Supported the continuous enhancement of the university’s distance learning platform.
Systems Integration
- Developed integrations between the UNIT-e Student Records System, Moodle, University of London systems and the institutional data warehouse.
- Integrated examination results, coursework marks and student information across multiple platforms, ensuring timely access to academic information.
- Designed secure system integrations supporting reliable data exchange between business-critical applications.
- Developed services using ASP.NET, C#, WCF and WSE3.
Data Warehouse & Reporting
- Designed and developed ETL, data warehouse and reporting solutions using SQL Server, Power BI, Oracle and PL/SQL.
- Supported operational and statutory reporting for HESA and HEFCE.
- Worked with stakeholders to translate reporting requirements into technical solutions.
- Improved the quality, consistency and availability of operational and academic reporting.
Quality Engineering & Testing
- Introduced unit testing to improve software quality, increase confidence in code changes and support long-term maintainability.
- Organised and led lab-based testing sessions with staff and students to analyse user behaviour, validate concepts and prove new solutions before production deployment.
- Worked closely with stakeholders to refine solutions based on testing outcomes and user feedback.
- Supported developer testing and user acceptance testing throughout the software delivery lifecycle.
Service Management & Support
- Provided third-line support for enterprise applications used by staff and students.
- Worked within ITIL service management practices, using Service Knowledge Management Systems (SKMS) to record and resolve incidents, document technical solutions and support knowledge sharing across the IT team.
- Investigated production issues and implemented improvements to increase system stability and reliability.
- Produced technical documentation supporting operational teams and future development.
