Mr Paul Smith

Summary

I joined the ILRT in 2000, moving from a web development and technical support role for a UK software distribution company, where my specialism was in web analytics tools and web development. I previously studied Information Systems at Leeds University where I was exposed to the early days of the WWW, and can still remember when Yahoo! was just a couple of pages and Mosaic was a popular browser.

During my time with the ILRT, I have been involved with the development of numerous web sites both within and external to the University, using a variety of platforms from simple Perl-based applications, to more complex installations using systems such as Drupal, Wordpress, Plone, Zope, Moodle, and combinations of all of these. More recently I have been involved with the development of mobile applications for use within the University. I am also project manager for a number of websites we host for clients such as the Worldwide Universities Network, the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement, and the Equality Challenge Unit. I am also currently service manager for the Bristol Online Surveys (BOS) system.

I was the lead developer and technical manager on the Virtual Training Suite service from its inception in 2000, until its recent transfer to a local software house in July 2011. I was also the acting manager for the ILRT Internet Development Group between February 2011 and May 2012.

I have passed the Level 3 Award in Effective Management from the Institute of Leadership and Management, and the ITIL Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management.

Activities / Findings

• Web standards
• Web analytics
• Mobile computing
• PhoneGap mobile development
• Drupal
• Wordpress
• Social media
• Front-end development

Teaching

• I taught an annual session on the importance and use of web standards in the 'Information Systems and Services' MSc course at the University of the West of England. (February 2008 – 2011)
• Presented a paper on ‘Virtual Training Suite’ technical developments at the international ASCILITE conference in Auckland, New Zealand. (December 2002)
• Presented at a workshop for the Russian Cultural Heritage Network in Moscow as a guest of the British Council. (January 2002)

Skills

• PHP
• Perl
• Python
• XHTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Oracle
• Linux
• Windows
• Apple OS
• Apache
• WordPress
• Drupal
• Zope
• Plone
• PhotoShop
• ITIL V3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management
• ILM Level 3 Award in Effective Management
• Member of British Computer Society

Memberships

Organisations

Recent publications

• Bickers, RA, Carstairs, J, Smith, P & Boere, P, 2017, ‘Historical Photographs of China’. Bristol University
• Hughes, D, Greenwood, P, Blair, G, Coulson, G, Grace, P, Pappenberger, F, Smith, P & Beven, K, 2008, ‘An experiment with reflective middleware to support grid-based flood monitoring’. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, vol 20., pp. 1303-1316
• Hughes, D, Greenwood, P, Coulson, G, Blair, G, Pappenberger, F, Smith, P & Beven, K, 2006, ‘GridStix: Supporting flood prediction using embedded hardware and next generation grid middleware’. in: Proceedings - WoWMoM 2006: 2006 International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks., pp. 621-626
• Hughes, D, Greenwood, P, Porter, B, Grace, P, Coulson, G, Blair, G, Taiani, F, Pappenberger, F, Smith, P & Beven, K, 2006, ‘Using grid technologies to optimise a wireless sensor network for flood management’. in: SenSys'06: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems., pp. 389-390
• Place, E, Kendall, M, Hiom, D, Booth, H, Ayres, P, Manuel, A & Smith, P, 2006, ‘Internet Detective: Wise up to the Web’.
• Smith, P, Place, E & Pitts, K, 2003, ‘Adapting Higher Eduation Learning Materials for Further Education - some examples of repurposing JISC services within the UK’. in: Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) 2003., pp. 486 - 494
• Sharp, K, Pitts, K, Smith, P & Place, E, 2003, ‘Adapting Higher Education learning materials for Further Education - some examples of re-purposing JISC services within the UK’. in: ASCILITE 2003., pp. 486 - 494
• Place, E, Smith, P, Price, S, Sharp, K & Griffiths, T, 2003, ‘The RDN Virtual Training Suite: A Tool for Teaching e-Literacy’. in: Allan Martin, Hannelore Radar (eds) Information and IT Literacy: Enabling learning in the 21st Century. Facet Publishing, pp. 177 - 183
• Place, E, Smith, P & Littlejohn, A, 2003, ‘The RDN Virtual Training Suite: a simple, off-the-shelf solution for improving students' information literacy’. Association for Learning Technology Newsletter, vol Issue 41., pp. 4 - 5
• Place, E & Smith, P, 2003, ‘Ideas for using the RDN Virtual Training Suite in Taught Courses and VLEs’. ASSIGNation, vol 21., pp. 28-31

View complete publications list in the University of Bristol publications system

Projects

• AuthorAID
• Bridge to Success
• Careers in Research Online Survey (CROS)
• Changing Perspectives
• Clinical Experience Recorder (CER)
• Content Management System (University)
• Course Online Booking System (COBS)
• DataSafe
• EdQual
• Equality Challenge Unit (ECU)
• JISC Mobile
• National Coordination Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) website
• Office for Fair Access (OFFA)
• Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES)
• Principal Investigators and Research Leaders Survey (PIRLS)
• Share the Guide
• Sustrans Active Travel Champions
• Virtual Training Suite
• Worldwide Universities Network