I led the complete replacement of Loughborough University's enterprise reporting system, which is used to generate official documents like transcripts and letters. I managed everything from auditing and retiring old reports to building and rolling out the new system using PL/SQL. The updated solution connects with both the Student Self-Service portal and a staff-facing APEX application. Since its launch in 2020, it has been handling around 50,000 requests each year.
Zakerias Rowland-Jones
Software Engineer
As a young IT professional and 2012 graduate from Coventry University, I am eager to continue developing my skills and gain valuable work experiences. I currently serve as a Software Engineer at Loughborough University, where I am responsible for business analysis, package implementation, software development and user support tasks in order to meet the University's corporate information systems' requirements.
Work Experience
Loughborough University
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
Loughborough University
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College
Loughborough
- Full stack developer leading on software development to deliver effective business solutions.
- Experience working with agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) coupled with MoSCoW prioritisation.
- Developed to a DevOps methodology striving for continuous improvement.
- Successfully managed projects of varying sizes.
- Responsible for technical delivery of HESA Data Futures.
- Developed mobile-first responsive application, allowing students to repay fees.
- Technologies used: PL/SQL, APEX, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, JSON, XML.
Education, Courses & Certifications
Computer Science BSc
Coventry University
2009 - 2012
Computer science deals with the theoretical foundations of information and computation, taking a scientific and practical approach to computation and its applications.
BCS Foundation Certificate in Data Protection
Freevacy Ltd
2022
The BCS Foundation Certificate in Data Protection is designed for those who wish to acquire an in depth grounding in the key elements of the UK law and its practical application. 00549822 / FD39225099
ITIL Foundation Certificate
Global Knowledge
2018
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is the world's leading framework used by IT professionals to drive better business strategies, embrace digital transformation, and optimise digital technologies. GR750492554ZR
Professional Skills
Toolkit
Oracle
Strong knowledge of Oracle and PL/SQL. Extensive experience with APEX, Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports.
SQL Server
Strong proficiency of MS SQL and T-SQL. Solid experience with the MSBI Stack (SSRS/SSIS/SSAS) and familiarity with PowerBI.
Python
Hands-on development experience with Python. General-purpose language used for specific tasks e.g. scraping data, API requests and OS interaction.
HTML
Experience creating software applications using modern-day web languages, ensuring product quality and scalability. Primary text editor is Visual Studio Code.
CSS
Considerable experience planning and designing interfaces (creating wireframes, design mockups, user flows etc). Good working knowledge of Bootstrap.
JavaScript
A relevant background in JavaScript, including DOM manipulation and jQuery. Currently embedding React.js for reusable components.
Bash
Experience using Bash as a terminal environment for everyday development tasks and general command-line operations.
Git
Made use of Git for source code management. Version control allows for collaboration, automation and continuous improvement.
GitLab
Reponsible for merge request approvals, deployment of updates and fixes into production, and general administration of GitLab.
Portfolio
- All
- University
- College
Enterprise Reporting
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Navi Annoucer
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I developed Navi Announcer, a lightweight, web-based queue display system built with Node.js and JavaScript. Designed for service counters and events, it features a simple setup where a host screen displays the current queue number, and connected client devices can call the next number, triggering real-time updates across all screens. The system also includes voice announcements, branding options, and live sync to ensure smooth and efficient queue management. It's mobile-friendly, PIN-protected, and completely open source on GitHub, offering a flexible and professional solution for managing queues with ease.
Box Portal
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I was responsible for the backend development of a modular system for staff and students at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College. The platform included over ten tools, covering everything from teaching observations and appraisals to enrichment tracking. I designed the database structure, built data integration pipelines, and wrote the core logic in T-SQL using the Microsoft BI stack. The system was launched in 2014 with a jQuery and PHP front end, and it's still in active use more than ten years later.
Data Futures
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At Loughborough University, I led the technical delivery of Data Futures, a national initiative to modernise student data collection in higher education. Our team successfully completed the HESA submission by the November 2022 deadline, a milestone achieved by just over half of participating institutions. Alongside this, I have acted as technical lead for several key statutory returns, including the Individualised Learner Record since 2013, the Initial Teacher Training return since 2019, and the DiscoverUni return on two occasions. These projects are essential to ensuring compliance with national data and funding regulations across the university.
Enrolment
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I led the technical side of main enrolment at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, a key period for welcoming new and returning students. I managed the setup of all the necessary infrastructure, made sure everything integrated smoothly with the student records system, and was on site to provide hands-on support and quickly resolve any issues. Thanks to this preparation, the systems always ran reliably throughout the entire multi-day enrolment process.
Portfolio Website
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This website has gone through several versions over the years, but I recently rebuilt it from the ground up using React and the Next.js framework. Although it is just a single-page portfolio, I used it as a personal challenge to apply modern web development practices. I broke the page into clear sections, separated the structure from the data, and looped the content to improve maintainability and scalability. It was more complex than it needed to be, but it gave me a great opportunity to explore new tools and sharpen my frontend skills.
Student Finance
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I designed and built a mobile-first, responsive web app for Loughborough University, giving students an easy way to check their balances, view payment history, and make secure online payments. I also contributed to the tuition fee calculation logic, while another developer led on the core implementation. Launched in 2023 and now used by around 20,000 students, the project was recognised with the University's Together award for its impact, which included reducing student debt by £10 million and improving cash flow by £13 million.
Platform Migration
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This was one of the first projects I worked on after joining North Warwickshire and Hinckley College. I helped with the transition from Oracle to Microsoft by rewriting a range of existing functionality from PL/SQL into T-SQL. This included reports, stored procedures, database objects and various ad-hoc scripts that were part of the college's internal systems. The goal was to ensure continuity on the new platform, and it gave me a great opportunity to get hands-on with real-world legacy systems and understand how to modernise them without losing functionality.