This page contains a detailed look at my previous work experience. You can use the Table of Contents below to easily navigate to the various sections. Alternatively, you can download a copy of my current CV.
Table of Contents
Professional Experience
Information Technology Division, University of Limerick, Limerick
E-Moderator – September 2019 – Present
Currently, I work for UL’s Information Technology Division (ITD). My role is that of an E-Moderator for classes held through the online teleconferencing software BigBlueButton. I provide support to both the tutors delivering their classes in this way and the students attending the sessions in order to ensure all involved have a positive experience.
Before each tutorial, I liaise with the teacher to assess their needs. These requirements can include uploading lecture material on their behalf, determining how they would like to communicate with me during the class and any other supports they feel they require.
When the session begins, I am responsible for monitoring attendance. I also observe the public chat system so that if any issues are raised by students, I can address them promptly and efficiently. Issues often include audio or connection issues, which I solve by contacting the student individually and guiding them through the troubleshooting procedures. Depending on the instructor’s wishes, I may also need to organise breakout sessions, where the main group is split into smaller teams for private collaboration. I follow the tutor’s instructions as to how they would prefer the rooms to be set up, then I ensure any difficulties encountered during this period are handled.
When the class ends, I contact the teacher again, providing them with the record of attendance and copies of the public chat and any notes students may have shared during the tutorial. I stay in contact with the tutor between classes to keep them informed of progress on resolving any issues that arose during their sessions.
Because of the current Coronavirus crisis, the volume of work has increased. This is because the University is now delivering more classes in this fashion. As a result, I have been gaining significantly more experience in this area in recent weeks.
Fiverr.com
Freelance Transcriber – September 2018 – August 2019
Fiverr is a platform where people offer services on a freelance basis. I provided transcription services to customers looking to generate a written form of their audio or video work.
This job involved managing orders from clients and making sure I prioritised work well so that tasks were completed on time. I spoke with customers to ascertain their requirements for the finished product, then created the transcription by carefully going through the supplied project material. When the transcription was complete, I meticulously proofread the content for accuracy, then delivered the work to the client for feedback and, if necessary, revision.
I believe conducting this work helped me to develop my communication skills, both in terms of dealing with customers and my ability to listen to and pick up details in the recorded content provided to me for transcribing.
DCM Compliance Ltd. (currently known as EcoOnline), Holland Road, National Technology Park, Limerick
Software Developer – January 2014 – August 2014
I worked for DCM Compliance as a Software Developer as part of the University of Limerick’s Co-Operative Education programme. DCM Compliance is a company which (among other services) sources and provides Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) to clients who are required to keep such documents on file for potentially hazardous chemicals on their premises. My role was to lead a project to develop an automated system to search for, verify and upload these MSDSs to the company website.
Using the Selenium library through the Java programming language, I developed a screen scraping system to carry out the following procedure:
- Read product codes from the company’s database.
- Use these codes to search manufacturer websites.
- Download the relevant documents.
- Analyse the retrieved MSDSs to determine if they were more recent than those on file.
- If necessary, upload the new files to the company website and update the database.
These steps needed to be comprehensively logged to allow for routine monitoring and troubleshooting of the system.
I began the project by thoroughly researching options for the development of a screen-scraping application. With the platform selected, a single manufacturer was chosen to begin the project. I implemented the entire system for this one manufacturer using a dummy test database. Each step of the process was implemented and then extensively tested against potential bugs. Once this single manufacturer was completed, the parts of the code which were reusable were separated into a package which I used as the basis for the main application. I then moved on to implementing the unique code required for sourcing the documents from the different manufacturer websites.
Throughout this process, I held regular meetings with management to update them on the project’s progress. This entailed preparing presentations with clear and concise information which took into account the fact that management had limited experience of the Java language. I also needed to provide comprehensive documentation for all aspects of the code so as to facilitate a handover process when my time at the company came to an end.
In addition to my duties on the MSDS project, I also carried out a number of research assignments for the company as required, including detailing the different options available to them for developing a planned mobile application.
Voluntary Experience
Meitheal Dùchas Community Transcription Project
Transcriber – January 2018 – August 2019
This project takes handwritten stories from Irish schoolchildren in the 1930s and transcribes them to create an easily accessible and searchable archive. I transcribed these stories during this time to build my experience in working with documents from different authors. In addition, I proofread other submissions for accuracy and made corrections where needed.
ULFM Student Radio, University of Limerick
Station Manager, Treasurer, Podcast Manager, Presenter – September 2011 – September 2017
Throughout my time studying in the University of Limerick, I was a very active member of the student run radio station on campus. Beginning as a presenter and presenting numerous shows of varying style, I eventually was elected onto the committee as Podcasts Manager in 2014. I led an initiative to produce weekly compilation podcasts for the station to highlight the best of the programmes aired that week. In 2015 I became the society’s Treasurer and was responsible for managing the station’s budget, liaising with creditors and debtors, handling cash, etc. In 2016 I was chosen as Station Manager and held this role for 18 months. This time included a 12 month period carrying out the role on a full time voluntary basis. The Station Manager was the primary contact point for the station, was responsible for scheduling, co-ordination of volunteers and generally handling the day to day running of the entire operation.
Below, I will outline the duties of each role in more detail:
- Station Manager: I was responsible for the overall day to day running of the station. This involved everything from managing the programme schedule, monitoring attendance, arranging for and carrying out training of volunteers, coordinating volunteers for events, being on call to solve urgent broadcasting issues and other various administrative roles. I played a key role in directing the development of the station, helping to organise fundraisers, suggesting and planning events and coordinating with the University, the Students’ Union and other external organisations to increase the profile of the station. During this time, I trained numerous volunteers in the operation of the studio equipment. I also taught workshops on subjects such as audio editing and on how set up the station’s outdoor broadcast equipment.
- Treasurer: In this role, I was in charge of managing the station’s budget. This involved everything from maintaining detailed records of income and expenditure, collecting receipts and invoices from other committee members, advertisers and suppliers, liaising with the University with regard to our yearly allocation of funding, handling cash provided by members for events, handling the banking duties of the organisation and preparing the station’s end of year budget submission to secure funding for the next financial year.
- Podcasts Manager: This was my first role as part of the management committee of the station. I managed the daily upload of recordings of the previous day’s broadcasts to the station’s MixCloud account. As well as this, I initiated a weekly Best Of podcast which compiled a selection of clips from the week into a half hour podcast to generate engagement with the shows involved. This entailed contacting presenters regularly in order to encourage them to submit suggestions, collating clips, writing a script for the podcast and finally recording, editing and distributing it.
- Presenter: My involvement with the station began as a presenter. I presented several different shows throughout my time with the station, including a news and current affairs show, an 80’s themed music show, a video game news show, a general light entertainment show and a weekly chart countdown show. Presenting a show on the station involved significant preparation work, including planning a running order of topics and music, sourcing music and audio clips, contacting people for interviews, etc. My work culminated in winning a National Student Media Award in 2016 for Radio DJ of the Year.
In recognition of the work I carried out for ULFM, I was awarded two Gold President’s Volunteer Awards by UL in 2015 and 2016.