Email: S3893742@student.rmit.edu.au
GitHub: GitHub Pages:
Growing up in small beach-side community in country South Australia, has helped shape who I am today. I have always had a passion for an active healthy lifestyle. I played netball and tennis and would compete in every event that I was allowed to at school sports days. I told myself that this is where my solitaire addiction first began, procrastinating in year 11 and 12.
During high school I began working in the hospitality industry at my local pub. After finishing year 12, I acquired a traineeship within the dental industry. I turned towards the healthcare industry completed a certificate III, IV and an advanced diploma in dental radiography and surgery. During this period, I moved to Adelaide for further career progression. I then began studying and working with the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) where I began working alongside paramedics as an Ambulance Officer.
I continued to apply myself to my studies while working with the emergency services and juggling a full-time and a part-time position. I had the opportunity to work for both government and private sectors before later joining the Australian Defence Force as an Army Medic. Each of these industries has taught me a vast range of skills while highlighting the importance of teamwork. What I enjoy about these elements is the implementations of numerous methods that working as a team can enhance each of our strengths and weaknesses to achieve the task.
Throughout my career I have been surrounded by several mentors with decades of experience that challenge my integrity, my work ethic, and my emotional maturity. The requirement for integration of understanding new studies and technologies and the importance of placing organisational interest ahead of personal convenience.
While working in the healthcare industry there were always high demands of responsiveness, this is especially pertinent in medical emergencies. Over the years my values and attitude have always aligned with continual personal and professional development. Working with patients and witnessing the advancements of technologies and how that was then integrated throughout the healthcare industries. I pride myself on having the ability to work independently but more importantly, as a team.
I read a powerful article that resonated with me. About a year ago, I was doing what most of us do, scrolling through social media. This article examined the potential consequences that social media and similar platforms, will have on a child and an adolescent’s future. My curiosity grew with the potential causes of deviant behaviour and criminalised activity occurring.
I began considering, what will happen with our privacy and our children’s privacy. It is almost scary at the rate in which IT is growing and the data at which we can search and exploit. How much of a digital footprint are we all leaving behind and what does this mean for our futures? I want to be a part of the research, prevention, and the implementation of such discoveries. If innocent children are not protected, their data will continue to be criminalised and child exploitation will continue. This topic is an area of devastation that I want to make a difference in.
My previous IT experience is on the cusp of intermediate. I can operate Defence Network Systems, use excel for simple and complex calculations and can operate various communication systems used for government and private capabilities. Over the years I found troubleshooting and learning from mistakes a great way to learn and I continue to see personal development a large part of motivation within the IT industry.
I chose to study with RMIT as I believe this institution will provide me with foundational IT knowledge. RMIT also offers what most of us with busy schedules require. Flexibility! It also offers a large support network and industry connections for career development. These are essential when entering the workforce as a new graduate. The flexibility of studying online allows me to create my own expectations of myself but also allow me to be vigilant with time and develop a personal learning plan.
During this course, I expect to build on the fundamentals of IT while also establishing a solid structure for personal and professional growth. RMIT will supply me with the tools for succeeding and my task is to then apply these key skills successfully. I also acknowledge that I will only get out, what I put in. My goal is to successfully graduate from RMIT and keep every possible avenue open for future employment. I have set high standards for myself, and I also believe I will further benefit from post-graduate studies with RMIT. As previously being in the military I hold relevant security clearances to further open my arcs of employment should this be a requirement.
Ideal Position: Cyber Security Specialist/ Digital Forensic Investigations
Link to Position: EL1 Senior Specialist, Digital Forensics (seek.com.au)
This role supports other Australian government using specialist skills in digital forensics that collaboratively investigates criminal activity through various digital, computer hardware and software, mobile operating systems, and mobile and computer networks.
This specific role interests me for several reasons. By working within the frontline of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), this role will both challenge me and give me a great sense of purpose by assisting government agencies to help reduce serious and organised crime. This role emphasises the need for disruption within cybercrimes and will allow me to push my analytical and lateral thinking to help protect society. My morals and values have always aligned with helping people by support and listening. Personally, the topic of cybercrimes is of increasing concern.
This role requires specific security screening processes that are mandatory and are in line with Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA). As this role is highly specialised it requires numerous educational requirements including a diploma of Police Intelligence Practice, a successful completion of the Criminal Intelligence Development Program and Intelligence Practice. This position also requires a high-level of technical ability with extensive working history experiences within information computing technologies. When applying for an IT role it is also important to have some sort of educational background within that industry to establish foundational knowledge This role has a requirement of having a Negative Vetting Level 2 Security Clearance.
The experience required for this position is based on a senior executive level. This includes several years working within software and hardware-based exploitation techniques. The area of expertise within cyber security must complement the skills and the knowledge within the law enforcement field. It requires an individual who has already gained experience within digital forensics and shows the ability to analyse complex data and prepare various technical reports for audiences including court proceedings. It also requires experience in end-to-end collection, processing, and an analysis of contemporary electronic devices. Experience in various digital forensic tools such as Cellebrite and X-Ways will also make ensure I am appealing to the interviewer.
A description of the skills, qualifications and experience I have is a basic understanding of computer and ICT systems, an understanding and employment within the public health sector and military experience including a level 1 security clearance. I am hoping to advance my computing and programming skills through the completion of Bachelor of Information Technology. Similarly, being an ex-military medic and an ambulance officer, I have developed skills that required me to think both strategically and perform under strict operational pressures. These skills create lateral thinking and judgement to facilitate multiple tasks under pressure while liaising with a chain of command through emergency and time critical scenarios. Throughout my career I have been a part of mentoring and assisting in providing training to colleagues to build capabilities while using concise and clear communication. These skills also have the potential to change and develop as they mould with the IT industries requirement and the future growth rate within the IT sectors.
I hope to build the fundamental basics that will help establish my career before advancing to Digital Forensics in Cyber Security.
Constructing a personal learning plan is key to showing progress within my professional and educational development. Working in collaboration with my learning styles will also help integrate and develop my strategies to build a successful career within cyber security.
To advance in the direction of my desired job, I plan to study at the tertiary education level to achieve the following qualifications, a Criminal Intelligence Development Level 1 and 2, a Diploma of Police Intelligence Practice, an Intelligence Collections Course. On completion of my formal education, I will seek to be employed within the cyber security industry focusing on experience in digital forensics within IT. By having implemented a personal learning plan, this can assure me that I have identified all steps to succeed.
I conducted a series of personality and learning style questionnaires and the results were surprisingly very accurate. This activity also cemented key traits that I should know about myself when forming a team in a practical manner either in the environment of a workplace or for my studies.
The Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test provided me with some very useful insight into many of my behaviours. After conducting the MBTI and reading about this personality type, I discovered that this personality type is the rarest of them all. INFJ-T or also known as an ‘advocate’ are an introverted sophisticated group that only account for 1% of the population. I am caring, gentle, reserved and am always relied upon with family and friends as I show genuine interest in their problems because we are known to be sensitive to others’ personal feelings.
The VARK learning styles incorporates the 4-main types of learning; Visual, Aural, Read and Write and Kinaesthetic. My results came back with being a multimodal learner. This makes it easier to learn from many different types of media while still being engaged and interested in a topic. I also find that by having a more diverse learning style, this can be incorporated into workplaces easier and therefore lowers potential communication breakdown errors. I also believe that in some circumstances I much prefer being hands on when learning a new skill, or simply reading an email with an outline of instructions can surpass. With multimodal learning, I can learn in a variety of ways however it comes down to a certain situation with what I may prefer based on the subject.
The DiSC Personality model distributes 4 different types of personalities to feed you a report out of 100. The four factors include dominant, influence, steadiness and compliance. This report produces an indication into how I react to different scenarios, how I can better understand the people around me and how I can work with other people in a team environment. My report indicated that I am a tenacious and determined person and I can bring a positive impact to people. I am also a clear thinker and I have an inner need to be objective and analytical. I also respond to logic rather than emotion and I am likely to be good at handling challenging and technical assignments.
Based on all three profile assessments, I found that working in a team environment can be tricky as I prefer to keep the peace rather than challenge others. I also have stubbornness about me and am vulnerable to criticism and conflict, this can be hard when I am receiving any future feedback from team-mates or a lecturer.
On the positive side, I am determined and strong-willed which goes hand in hand with being very driven and future orientated. A great point to make is I am known to make connections with people very easily and I can sense social vibes by picking up on non-verbal and micro-expressions. Aside from reading the room and making great connections I enjoy conversing about deep topics, and I have a passion and a love for learning.
All three personal profile results ensured me that I should be aware of the types of learning styles that I learn from the most and am the most engaged with. By also adding YouTube videos and podcasts into my learning, I am also incorporating the learning style that I learn best with; Multimodal. I can also follow this through with forming a team and indicating that I learn best and am the most focused when I have various types of learning models around me. It may also help another teammate speak up and request this too. I will also focus on bringing a positive behaviour and an analytical and an objective opinion so ensure that we are looking at the project from all angles. This activity did not only help me learn a little more about myself, but I gained more of an understanding as to how I can contribute and communicate when working in and forming a team.
There is something very special about receiving a hand-written letter from someone on the other side of the world. In today’s society; I believe everyone would benefit from the resurgence of the traditional Pen Pal but with more of a technical and personal addition.
My project idea is an online website interface and an application-based program that matches users with Pen Pals with similar interests. Traditionally Pen Pal forums will only match you with someone speaking the same language as you. But to set my program out from the rest my app allows users from different languages to be Pen Pals through our translator system. Still in with keeping with the traditional feel of the authentic mailed letter.
Personal and authentic communication is vital for so many things! Communication plays an important role in society by helping us share ideas, connecting us, encouragement, reflection, clarification, support and even listening. Being in touch with family and friends is now, more important than ever. Mental Health issues have seen a significant increase due to the outbreak of Covid-19 across the world. (AIHW, 2021)
My motivation behind this project came during lockdown. I know what it is like to move to a new city and not know anyone. The feeling of being overwhelmed. You don’t know who to talk to or don’t even know where to start with the social side of things. Making friends while also meeting new people can be tough. There are feelings of judgement and avoiding social situations all together.
Communication can sometimes be tough and many of us do not have the systems to communicate. Not everyone has thousands of friends on Facebook, or hundreds of followers on Instagram. The social media list can go on. I want to create an app that can change this. That can make people feel like they are heard and that they do have someone to talk to, someone is there, on the other end, writing to them. Even if they are across the other side of the world, cannot speak English and are isolated from the world.
I want to create an app, that is similar to a traditional Pen Pals, concept however, on a much more personal scale and most importantly will bridge language barriers.
My idea is to create an online html program (mobile and web based) that matches users seeking a Pen Pal. Users create an online profile and answer a questionnaire detailing interests, topics and hobbies. Once a profile has been created an algorithm will match them with someone speaking their language. Once your Pal has been selected, you will be given their mailing address to commence correspondence at your leisure (this is a traditional Pen Pal format).
Traditionally Pen Pal forums will only match you with someone speaking the same language as you.
My application is different because it will allow people from different language to be Pen Pals. If a user selects the option to be matched with someone with a different language the process will be slightly different to just receiving their mailing address.
When sending letter to someone of a different language users will submit their letter online through the web application; which will then be translated to the receivers native language. This translation will be completed by a trained Pen Pal translator and machine learning software (translating software) before being printed and sent in a traditional letter format.
The tools and technologies required for website development on this project may include html, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python and Ruby. Common tools to assist in the development of machine learning and algorithms also include Scikit-learn, KNIME and Dynamic Programming.
Algorithm tools will be used to match users based on their inputs and common interests. Additionally, this project will require server-side coding and client-side coding (front-end and back-end programmers) and database technology. The programming languages that may be utilised will also differ in accordance with graphical content that is required. As the language translations will require a database, I will be seeking approval from Google translate to translate all letters and then outsource to multilingual Pen Pal staff who will edit the letter prior to postage. Other hardware that will likely required is online servers, printers, and computers.
Due to personal data being collected, there will be a requirement for secure storage on a controlled database. Privacy terms of use will be clearly stipulated in the terms and conditions for all users. The project may also choose to implement assigned alias addresses to users to keep users addresses safe. As this is a website-based project users will need to have an internet compatible device and be familiar with basic online principles. The skills required for this project are multiple programmers who have experience with various languages.
The outcome of this application will send the receiver their own custom letter regardless of any language barriers. This letter can be written in any font the writer chooses, translated into the receiver’s preferred language, computer printed with any choice of coloured ink, and down to the colour of the piece of paper.
The app will receive the information from the writer, translate it if necessary and send it to a printer for dispatch. The envelope is also printed, and a “local” stamp is attached along with the receiver’s address. To conceal any personal details, the app will never disclose the receivers address and is done inside of the program itself. This is to also keep their identity protected unless they would like to disclose it within the letter itself.
References AIHW, 2021. Mental Health Services in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/mental-health-impact-of-covid-19#mental-health [Accessed 19 September 2021].