A local to the Newcastle area, Cornelius knew of the University of Newcastle’s reputability and established this as the main option for tertiary study after finishing his HSC.

“In my HSC I took both engineering and software development subjects, and really enjoyed both, so I knew that my passions were in those two areas. From there, it was a relatively simple decision to combine the two and undertake Software Engineering,” he said.

Discovering an interest in the way things worked and exploring the world of software, Cornelius was drawn to the Bachelor of Software Engineering and the possibilities this created for him.

“I heard a lot about the capabilities of machine learning, and watched that progress through the mainstream media growing, up, so I was very interested in the prospect of actually creating new algorithms and finding novel applications for machine learning,” he said.

Throughout his degree, Cornelius wanted to increase his knowledge of software and share his passion for it through teaching others. While studying, he discovered Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and began mentoring others studying the courses which he had successfully completed.

“I was fortunate enough to begin working with the fantastic people over in the PASS program and begin working as a PASS leader. This was a great experience for me and whet my appetite for more teaching,” he said.

“In the years following this, I was able to obtain a position as a demonstrator for software engineering courses, which was extremely rewarding.”

This early exposure to mentoring and educating others opened up a world of possibilities, including higher research degrees (HDR). Combining research and publishing opportunities with international travel, Cornelius started his pathway to a successful career all while being an undergraduate student.

“I was exposed to research through several lecturers that I engaged with throughout my program,” he said.

“This research was very successful and gave me the opportunity to publish a conference paper, and travel overseas, which was an incredible success for a student still completing their undergraduate program,”

“This gave me the motivation and the opportunities to continue my study and undertake a HDR program.”

Completing his Bachelor of Software Engineering at the end of 2022, Cornelius started his PhD in Computer Science in the first intake for 2023.

Starting a PhD directly after finishing a bachelor's degree didn’t faze Cornelius.

“Working alongside academics during my undergraduate program, I was able to develop my research and academic writing skills to better prepare me to pursue a PhD. This has really helped me in my more recent papers and literature review,” he said.

Discussing his research and experience so far, Cornelius has already participated in various research domains ranging from image-based malware classification, to improving student engagement through industry authenticity.

Currently he is working to develop an autonomous cyber security framework for securing autonomous systems.

“We aim to apply machine learning to be able to analyse the state of an autonomous system, identify threats, then create and execute a mitigation strategy,” he said.

For Cornelius, the chance to travel while studying and supporting his research has been a highlight. Not only for the connections he’d made , but the opportunity to expand his understanding of the computing and software industry.

“The most exciting part of my undergraduate program was being able to travel to conferences and present my work in a professional academic environment,” he said.

“It was a lot of hard work to complete papers while also studying coursework full time, however the experience was amazing and the opportunities that were opened as a result have really shaped my career.”

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Cornelius Paardekooper

Stemming from his passion for software, Cornelius shaped his career through tutoring and research. Now studying a PhD, he embraces his research and how this can educate others and change his future.

It was a lot of hard work to complete papers while also studying coursework full time, however the experience was amazing and the opportunities that were opened as a result have shaped my career.

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