AN IT student who aims to battle global hackers is hoping to impress at a prestigious world skills contest.
Former Darlington College student Luke Saunders will show off his network troubleshooting skills at the prestigious Worldskills competition.
For the second time running the Hurworth computer expert has secured a place in the finals due to be staged at Birmingham NEC from November 18 to 21.
The 19-year-old, who studied IT at Darlington College before taking a degree at Birmingham University, will be set a series of network challenges to solve.
“When I was about eight my dad took an IT course at Darlington College which triggered my interest,” he said. “I soon realised that I was gifted with anything to do with IT.
“I love being logical and when I address a problem and dig down to find a solution often it reveals another issue that has to be tackled. Worldskills is the most challenging thing I have done in my life.”
Luke has another problem to resolve – how to fit the Worldskills contest around his scheduled exams. “I hope the university can help me out as I don’t want to miss the competition or my exams,” he said.
After completing his degree Luke hopes to work with the Government’s UK communications headquarters GCHQ, one of the world’s biggest intelligence networks.
“There is so much hacking going on at the moment related to terrorism, crime and espionage, I would love to help build a resilient network,” he said.
“If a network goes down you simply can’t accept failure. Networking is so important but it has to be planned meticulously.”
He had high praise for his Darlington College tutors who had encouraged his interest and sponsored him in the Worldskills event.
“My aim is to be a Cisco Certified Inter-network Expert, a qualification recognised the world over,” he said. “But this involves flying to Belgium to sit the exam. I love IT and am hoping being in the final of Worldskills will help me.”
His former tutor Jason Miller said: “Luke is absolutely passionate about IT and the fact he has reached the Worldskills finals two years running is testament to his hard work, talents and commitment. I’m sure he will flourish in what is an ever-evolving field that has prospects world-wide.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.
