How Dominik turned his hobby into his career

Making an impact

Balancing a busy life with his hobby, Dominik developed an app that provided legal advice and one that showed you where the nearest supermarket or hairdresser was. But he realised that he wanted to make a career out of what he loved - and a professional qualification would help him reach his goal. He enrolled on our BSc (Hons) Computer Science degree after recommendations from friends already studying the course.

Using the new skills he has learned, he has developed several apps while studying at the University that are available to purchase in Apple’s app store:

• Picturly allows users to add an extra image in a frame to the snap they take in Snapchat
• Frizbee is a picture sharing app - it allows people from the same area to share images between themselves while being totally anonymous. You create a temporary profile when you enter the app and it is deleted as soon as you leave the app
• Portrait allows the users to connect their social media in one personal account and give permission for others to access these profiles within the app if requested

An aid to research

Dominik is continuing to make an impact on people’s lives. As a final year project, he enjoyed working on an iOS application with his project supervisor, Dr Mohsen Farid. Their goal is to deliver a product/service for researchers to analyse medical data related to many disorders. The first stage of the project is to help research into autism spectrum disorder.

And Dominik’s iOS developer role with Hedgehog Lab will allow him to continue working on mobile apps and advancing his skills.

Meeting like-minded people

Coming to study at the University of Derby has given Dominik the opportunity to meet like-minded people with similar ideas and goals, to learn from and share knowledge with. As an international student, Dominik, from Poland, found that the University provided him with lots of support and guidance.

“Don’t hesitate to study here, especially if you are an international student. The staff will help you if you feel overwhelmed. You can meet many people from different backgrounds who might inspire you to take next step in your career. I also met a student from Croatia who became one of my best friends and now we carry on developing apps together.”

And Dominik is full of praise for the support available for life after university. He says: "The University has services to help every student with their career and it is up to you if you decide to embrace the chance and improve your employment prospects. The lecturers and your supervisor encourage you to do your best and give you priceless advice which they base on their own experience."