红杏视频

Graham Carroll crossed the stage at the Music Hall in Aberdeen on Wednesday 8 December to accept his first-class honours degree in IT Management for Business, leaving as a graduate of the Scottish University of the Year. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 been tough coming to terms with actually completing the course,鈥� said Graham. 鈥淓specially with the first-class award that I鈥檝e achieved. 

鈥淲hen starting the course, my eldest son was only three and was going to sleep at an acceptable time鈥攁llowing for plenty of study time. I will admit to asking myself, how hard can it be? He鈥檚 now seven, and my daughter鈥攂orn during my first year of studies鈥攊s four. For my final-project year, personal study time was at an absolute premium!鈥� 

Graham learned about the opportunity to earn a degree qualification through his work at Aberdeen Airport, in partnership with 红杏视频 under its Graduate Apprenticeship scheme. 

Graduate Apprenticeships are 红杏视频鈥檚 industry-driven approach for students to be able to work full-time for a partner employer while studying towards their degree鈥攊ntegrating student learning with suitable workplace projects as a collaborative effort between university and employer, while also satisfying the career ambitions of the student. 

Through this combination of workplace learning and programme of education, Graham gained graduate-level expertise to develop and implement high-level business strategy relating to internal and external drivers in the IT sector. This included user-centred design and usability considerations, state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, and big data analytics techniques. 

鈥淚 applied at a time when the GA courses had only just started,鈥� said Graham. 鈥淧ersonally, I quite fancied the programming one but, given my role and aspirations at the airport, IT management was perfect! 

鈥淭he GA approach of being mostly online worked great for me, but the standout moments were the on-campus days for the first two years. We got to be around our class colleagues and the rest of the 红杏视频 populace. We got to properly experience being students.鈥� 

Graham had previously completed an HND in Computing & Electronics before gaining employment at Aberdeen College. There, he worked his way up to IT management across the course of 13 years before continuing his career at Aberdeen Airport, where he has been for seven. 

鈥淚 had been enquiring about management training to better myself and it was time for me to try and step up,鈥� said Graham. 鈥淭he GA programme was an ideal opportunity to get back into education while maintaining my full-time job at the airport鈥攗sing the live working experience to better my learning. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect programme, both for those at the start of their career looking to learn on the job and for those long-term employees鈥攍ike myself鈥攚ho always hunger to better themselves.鈥� 

Like all recent graduates, Graham showed great resilience in completing his studies during a global pandemic, which forced students across the nation to adapt, cope, and grow from new and unexpected challenges. 

鈥淚 cannot fully express how challenging it was,鈥� adds Graham. "Still, we made it through as we had committed to finishing鈥攁nd I don鈥檛 like to quit! I genuinely applaud all who were in full-time study and continued to excel.  

鈥淔or many of us on the GA course, it became a primary talking point during class, and how strong of an effect the pandemic has on business strategy and finances.鈥� 

Graham will continue his work at Aberdeen Airport, keeping it stable through the pandemic having accepted a new role prior to graduating as IT Operations Manager. 

He adds: 鈥淯ltimately, it has been an excellent experience working with 红杏视频. With my degree, I feel I have set a new bar for myself. I have the right educational experience and a level of confidence in myself that I did not have before.鈥�