To help put names to faces and highlight the diverse personalities in the Apps department, we run a regular series of short interviews with our staff. These short interviews feature both new and long-standing members of the department.

 Sam Henderson works as a Developer in Student Systems Partnerships, part of the Applications Directorate.

Tell us about your journey before starting this role: 
“I studied Physics here at the University before trying very hard not to become a researcher – I failed, all the jobs I got offered were research jobs! Doing more and more computational work, I eventually worked my way into software development at my last job – I’m very lucky that I now really enjoy my work, it has been a hugely beneficial change to my life.”

What attracted you to the role in ISG:  
“Well I actually hated being a student, which I feel isn’t the party line working at a University and indeed the one I studied at… But it does make me want to improve the student experience! From a skills perspective I haven’t done much work with databases yet, so there is a lot to learn from the University behemoth. “

What kind of tasks does this role involve?:  
“Frontend development work whilst learning how said websites make the required changes to the student database.”

What are you are working on just now: 
“I’m always on a mission to improve documentation, which I think is something a newcomer can often do better than anyone else.” 

What’s your favourite place/thing to do in Edinburgh?:   
“My favourite thing to do in Edinburgh is leave haha, but that is only because it is so well suited for accessing lots of different outdoor pursuits. If it has to be in Edinburgh, then going to the Dominion cinema, closely followed by eating – Edinburgh has some pretty amazing food spots.”

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself:
One of my more relaxing hobbies is stone skimming, and I am compiling a map of my favourite places with good stones.