Napier University, 1998 - 2001 [www.napier.ac.uk]

Originally I entered the ancient Edinburgh University as a BSc Computer Science undergraduate. This wasn't much fun so I was soon heading towards an M.Eng. Electrical & Electronic Engineering degree instead, with a curriculum of two-thirds Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science and Maths courses, and one-third outside subjects in business/economics. Having broadened my mind from Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, I switched course in my third year, onto a much more agreeable second-year M.A. Economics curriculum. However, university regulations prevented me from changing Faculty so, finding myself eligible only for a General degree, in my fourth year I had freedom to study anything at all: two Business Studies honours courses, a bit more Economic History, and the really cool Meteorology course. I learned two useful things at Edinburgh. Firstly, the most important people in organisations are secretaries and administrators. They can take a late coursework submission and make it on-time. Indeed, they can do just about anything for you, if they want to. Secondly, never depend on anyone else's intellect. When faced with a tough essay in the early years, I would collaberate, and seek help from tutors and lecturers. But those essays always turned out mediocre. So when tasked with a hopelessly difficult Economics 2 essay, which would form 25% of my grade that year, I determined to figure it out for myself. There were only a dozen journal articles in the world which covered the subject and all were incomprehensible... but I kept on re-reading and eventually understood it. Not only was I then able to effortlessly write an essay which quite literally scored top-of-the-class, but I felt such an authority on the subject I could have confidently lectured on it and happily explained it to the man on the street. So, now I always do my own research, the hard way. Afterall, knowledge is power.

Award BSc General Science 1st Year Computer Programming 1 Economics 1 Electrical & Electronic Engineering 1 Maths 1Y 2nd Year Electrical & Electronic Engineering 2 Electronics & Software 2 Maths 2D Industrial Management 1h Techniques of Management for Scientists & Engineers 1h 3rd Year Economic History 1 Economics 2 Management Science & Information Systems 3 Operation Research Techniques (ORT) 3 4th Year Economic History 2 Meteorology Behaviour in Organisation 3 Strategy & General Management 3

I went to plain vanilla state schools, and there's very little can be said about them. Primary school was nice, very satisfactory, but under the control of the regional Labour Party, the quality of North Berwick High School's learning experience was inevitably a raw deal. Around the time I entered it, so too did the meddling fingers of the Labour-run Education Authority. They pursued a cynical agenda of abolishing uniforms, discipline, merit reward schemes, etc, and ensuring left wing cirricula riddled with anti-British and anti-Tory propoganda. They also started teaching German instead of French. Certainly, French is not particularly worthwhile speaking anymore, but clearly switching to Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic or Russian, would have been far more helpful. Bizarre! Anyhow, in 1990, I was winner of both the Scottish Mathematical Challenge and the National Bible Society Essay Competition, the latter somewhat to my surprise since I had written about the moral justification of war.

Certificates of Sixth Year Studies Mathematics Computer Studies SCE Higher Grades Computer Studies (B) English (B) Geography (A) Maths (C) Physics (A) SCE Standard Grades Chemistry (1) Computer Studies (1) English (2) Geography (1) German (2) Mathematics (1) Physics (1)