Emma's story

Watch Emma's video

Emma's final year project, the Videobrix app, allows users to remotely control large, digital display screens from the comfort of their own home.

Emma wasn't sure what she wanted to do after completing her A-Levels, or if she even wanted to go to University, so she decided to take a gap year.

During the time away from her studies, Emma realised she wanted to learn how to build software. It was essential to Emma that the degree she studied was highly practical, so she could immediately apply what she had learnt in a software developer role.

"I looked up this course [BSc in Applied Software Engineering] and went to the Open Day. I fell in love with the place when I saw the whiteboards on the walls that you can write on. Seeing all the technology and the people here – it was perfect for what I wanted to do," Emma explained.

Emma said, "We created a web app that helps them [the user] to connect to the billboards remotely. Rather than having to climb up a giant ladder to have to change the videos, a person can upload videos, manage playlists etc.

We achieved this using a React JS website that connects to a Raspberry Pi and then to the LCD screen. It was quite technically challenging but really fun to work with. It ended up being a really good project that hopefully, they [the client] liked."

Laing O’Rourke worked closely with the National Software Academy to develop a prototype barcode scanner with a potential use in tracking our building materials. We are looking forward to further engagements with the Academy in future years and believe this to be a good model for training the software engineers of the future.