Moray lecturer awarded PhD
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A COMPUTING lecturer from Moray College UHI has been awarded a PhD from the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Graham Wilson's thesis titled To What Extent Do Personality and Problem Solving Ability Determine Software Development Role Suitability? was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The purpose was to determine whether the personality and problem-solving skills of novice programmers could determine potential suitability for specific software development roles.
Conducted under the supervision of Dr Gareth Davies and Professor Frank Rennie, Dr Wilson carried out his research between September 2015 and April 2019.
His key findings showed certain personality types, traits or trait strengths, can be associated with specific software development roles. Strategy-gaming, puzzle-gaming, playing music and disassembly/reassembly, are key sources of problem-solving skills, rather than education.
Sensing and judging were the most dominant personality traits, while thinking and feeling appeared less important. Therefore, suitability for specific roles can be determined by problem-solving capability and associated personality trait strengths.
Samantha Bright, head of curriculum (STEM) at Moray College UHI, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Dr Wilson which increases Moray College’s research standing throughout the University of the Highlands and Islands.
"His PhD will also increase the research capability in the computing and digital media department, in terms of investigating links between learning and teaching and the computing curriculum.
"Ultimately the findings of this thesis will enhance and improve the student experience which is good news for all."
Moray College UHI offers a range of computing and digital media courses from access to honours degrees. That includes a new BSc (Hons) Applied Software Development course, which is starting this September.
