“An exciting time to be working in IT”

At SERC we are very proud of our staff and the skills and experience they bring to the College – often the latest from industry and business.  Over the next few weeks we will be catching up with a few of our computing lecturers to hear about their work at SERC. This week we hear from Sam Holmes.

Lecturer Sam Holmes is currently teaching on both Higher Education and Level 3 programmes.  He said, “My area of expertise is Computer Programming, but I also have good experience in Databases and Mobile Application Development.

“I left Ulster University in 2005 with an Associate Bachelor’s Degree in Computing and I worked in a range of different fields (not all of them IT related!) before settling into work as an IT Support Engineer with a Dungannon-based meat processing company. After finishing my honours degree part-time, I returned to Ulster University in 2016 as a full-time student, where I was working towards a PhD in Communication of Health Messages using Personalised Chatbots for Weight Loss Maintenance, which I completed in May 2020. 

“I started teaching in SERC in October 2020 and have brought with me a tremendous passion for all I do, and a great empathy for my students and colleagues.

I think the education sector faces significant challenges over the next 10 years, particularly because of the COVID19 pandemic. I could see the College’s expertise in distance and remote learning becoming part of our overall offer at the College, particularly in subject areas such as software development.   It is an exciting time to be working in IT or taking the first steps in a career to work in the sector.   Things are always developing but it is meeting real needs in terms of communication, learning, teaching and everyday things like shopping and accessing appointments for healthcare.

“For me, the best things about teaching IT at SERC are the support from colleagues, the opportunities to teach a range of subjects and on different campuses and the opportunities for personal development.   This all transfers positively to student success at SERC.”

Click here to find out about the full range of IT courses at SERC.    Apply now for courses commencing September 2021.