Thomas Humphreys (BSc Computing, 2022)

Having completed all my secondary schooling in Spain, I went on to pursue my further education at the Technical University of Delft, but soon realised it wasn’t the right environment for me. I had initially heard about Buckingham through my parents, who are both alumni and had met there in 1983. They had happy memories of Buckingham and admired how distinctive, personal, and international the scene was on campus.

I had the opportunity to attend a guided tour of the University and ask all my pertinent questions. The day in Buckingham also included a meeting with the Dean of Computing, at which he was able to address my concerns regarding blockchain, as it was my primary aspiration and interest to focus on that area.

I joined the September 2019 cohort and was surprised by how different the course was compared to my previous university programme. The tight-knit classes allowed me to ask many questions and engage with the lectures more easily; the timetables gave the flexibility to organize my spare time, especially allowing me to apply in practice what I had learned in blockchain and crypto; and having my personal tutor alongside me meant I was encouraged and motivated when I most needed it.

During my time at Buckingham, I was able to form a competitive group called ‘Team Bucklers’ at the Keyloop Dealer Tech Competition and win the regional team prize worth £3000. I was twice nominated to the Student Union body as Equity and Inclusion Officer as well as Ethical and Environmental Officer, where I was able to introduce free-cycling schemes and fundraise against deforestation. I also co-founded a student-led start-up for connecting students on campus via a mobile application with the assistance of the Buckingham Enterprise & Innovation Unit (BEIU). The University and degree allowed for so many opportunities to further develop skills that were transferable to different domains and for which I am truly grateful.

In the end, I was able to graduate with First Class Honours and with three academic awards for best performance in exam diets and for the most outstanding undergraduate project regarding conversational AI chatbots.

My experience at Buckingham was made unique in comparison to other students from prior years. The pandemic was a challenge for everyone, though Buckingham rose to the occasion by presenting a wide variety of opportunities that made the journey very enjoyable and exciting.

Moving forward, I recently started my position as Global Head of Trading Operations at a hedge fund in the Cayman Islands, where I am soon to be reallocated. My role focuses on managing, trading, and operating capital between various desks, and performing technical reviews of crypto projects involving Solidity programming language.

Studying Computing at The University of Buckingham has made all this possible and I would thoroughly recommend the programme.