Zubayr
BSc (Hons) Computer Science for Cyber Security
Getting to Bradford
“On results day, I got a call from another University to offer me a place and I was all set to go there.
"However, when I put the phone down I had a voicemail from the University of Bradford letting me know that although I didn’t quite meet the grades for their original offer, they would still like to give me a place on their Computer Science with Cyber Security course. I was delighted! I called straight back to accept.”
“One of the main reasons that I knew Bradford was right for me was my experience at the Open Day. I was quite nervous when I came because coming from college I was expecting the University to be much smaller.
"It’s funny looking back now, thinking about how I was quite overwhelmed when we went on the campus tour. Now as a student I make the most of the amazing facilities on offer, like the library with twenty-four-hour access. After chatting to staff and students it felt like the right place for me.”
The students gave me a really good understanding of the course contents and student life and most of all they made me feel really welcome.
City life
“I love to shop and because I also work in The Broadway shopping centre I spend quite a lot of time there. Spending time on campus is great as well as there is a Starbucks, Costa and lots of places to eat and hang out.
“Lahore is my favourite place to go with friends when we want to eat out and it’s just down the road from campus. I’ve enjoyed exploring other places around the city as well, like the Alhambra theatre, National Science and Media Museum, and City Park is fantastic on a sunny day!
“I live in Halifax and so it’s really easy to get to University. The trains are regular and if I get the bus it drops me right outside the campus.”
A passion for computing
“I’ve had an interest in computers since primary school and have always been fascinated by what is going on behind the screen. At high school I volunteered to help the IT team maintain the virtual learning environment and it was around this time that I also started building my own computers."
“At college I decided to study for a BTEC because I liked the idea of doing a course equivalent to three A levels all focused on my passion for computing. While I was there I also got the opportunity to work in the NHS on a two week placement in their IT department. This was invaluable work experience, particularly when going on to apply to universities.”
Studying Computer Science
“Lots of the course is focused around programming and coding which I love! In first year we spent a lot of time working in Java, which is a really popular coding language within industry.
“In my second year I got the opportunity, along with some of my coursemates, to work with the Trussell Trust who run food banks. We developed a simple application that can be used on a mobile or desktop computer. It allows the food bank staff to record what items have been donated and then distributed and has become a really important tool for them, particularly with the increasing demand for food banks during the downturn.
“The main priority was to ensure it was a simple and effective app to use and I feel like we achieved that. I really enjoyed the whole project and it helped to build my confidence. Working with a team has been an important skill to develop as I know that it will be a big part of my future career.
“I’m really excited to get to work on my final year project which is all about cryptography. I’ll be building an app which allows users to exchange messages securely. I think it will be another opportunity to be creative and I’m looking forward to exploring different types of encryption techniques.”
Building software is one of my favourite parts of the course. It allows me to be creative and for me, I love to focus on the user experience as well.
Endless opportunity
“I feel like there are so many opportunities that I can look at and explore once I graduate. At the moment I’m quite interested in an analyst role as it’s all about planning and implementing measures that can protect computer systems. I’m also quite interested in the idea of going into teaching so I might look at studying for my PGCE.”