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Full Name :	Nestor Jacovides
E-Mail :	nestoras"at"gmx.net
Date of Birth :	13th April 1977
Nationality :	Cypriot / British

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

1999 – 2000	MSc with Distinction in Data Communication Systems, Brunel University, UK.
	Main subjects include: Computer Networks, Software Engineering, Coding for Compression and Data Security, Multimedia Systems and Web Technology, Satellite, Optical, Mobile Communication Systems, and Project Management.
	Thesis: Evaluating MPEG-II Video Transcoding Techniques for the reduction of the Bit-rate of MPEG-II Video to suit various channel bandwidths. This involved getting familiar with the MPEG-II encoding technique, applying MPEG-II decoding and encoding to various MPEG-II encoded video samples and evaluating the performance of this technique with respect to the channel bandwidth requirements.
1996 – 1999	BEng with First Class Honours in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Brunel University, UK.
	Main subjects included: Digital Communication Systems, Digital Signal Processing, Digital Systems Architecture, Computer Systems Design, and Management.
	Thesis: ^p/₄-shifted DQPSK modulator implementation on the TMS320C542 DSP. This involved getting familiar with the TMS320C542 Digital Signal Processor assembly language, designing and testing the software to implement the system, and evaluating its performance with respect to other existing systems.
1989 – 1995	The English School, Nicosia, Cyprus.
A Levels :	Mathematics (B), Physics (B), Modern Greek (B), Economics (E).
GCSE :	Mathematics (A), Biology (A), Chemistry (A), Physics (A), Modern Greek (B), English language (C), Computing studies (C), English Literature (D).

OTHER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS:

· Obtained a Scholarship for the Master of Science course from the A.G. Leventis Foundation, Paris, France.

PROFFESSIONAL STATUS:

· Member of the Technical Chamber of Cyprus.

· Associate Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Oct 00 – Present

Job Title:

Job Function:

Scope of Role:

Project Work:

Nortel Networks UK Ltd, Maidenhead, UK.

Capacity Planning Engineer

Networks Consultant

Working for Nortel Networks UK Ltd in the EMEA Headquarters, I am part of a well established group within the company, called Professional Services, who deal business and network planning, implementation, and management services; repair and remanufacturing; training; product support/warranty services; and systems/network integration solutions.

As a Capacity Planning Engineer, my role is to provide consultancy services to our customers, recommending an architecture that ensures security, high availability and optimisation of existing assets. The designs ensure the current and future needs for bandwidth, performance and flexibility using technologies for broadband and wireless as required by the customer. By applying various Network Planning techniques I aim to plan the customer’s network and it’s capacity in the most economical and flexible way.

1. Bulldog Communications Limited. (http://www.bulldogcommunications.com/), UK.

Participated proactively in the response to the request for proposal for an Operation Support Systems (OSS) and a Business Support Systems (BSS) solution for Bulldog Communications Ltd. Tasks performed involved:

a. Analysis of the Bulldog key business needs, the Bulldog network requirements, the OSS/BSS functional requirements, and the Network Management requirements,

b. Identification of the most appropriate Nortel Networks products and services for the customer, and

c. the formal documentation of the proposal.

2. OSS/BSS Practice, Workforce Planning, UK.

The OSS/BSS Practice is an emerging group within Nortel Networks, designed to deliver customer value by providing OSS/BSS solutions focused around speed and profitability that solve customer’s business challenges. The goal was to build a Workforce Management tool to be used

a. to plan time and effort for each OSS/BSS Team Member per project,

b. to assess future time availability of OSS/BSS Team Members, and

c. to plan the OSS/BSS manpower required per engagement.

3. 186k Limited. (http://www.186k.co.uk/), UK.

As the prime contact for the 186k Network Capacity Planning my functions are to

a. Liase between the

i. 186k Marketing department for future traffic forecasts,

ii. Network Architects for feedback on topology and equipment changes, and

iii. Network Operations for current network usage information.

b. Build and simulate a 186k network model (TDM, VoIP, IP, SDH, and DWDM layers) using the NetQUAD network-modelling tool.

c. Analyse capacity profiles and provide feedback to the Network Design and Engineering team for possible amendments to the network topology, or for ordering further interconnect to other operators as required.

Further to my Capacity Planning function, I was also involved in the planning of the Interconnect of 186k to British Telecommunications Plc (BT). This involved the

a. Use of capacity planning information to identify the required number of interconnect links per point of presence of the 186k Network, and

b. Formalising the order of the links by submitting a National traffic ingress and egress routing plan to BT.

4. Cable & Wireless Voice Network transformation (TDM to VoIP), UK.

My role in the project involved

a. The analysis of Call Records taken from the current network elements with the aim of understanding the Community of Interest (CoI) between the network elements.

b. Modelling the new network using the NetScene network-modelling tool aiming to size the various types of trunks interconnecting the customer network with BT and Other national and international operators.

5. UPC (http://www.upc.nl/), The Netherlands.

Work here involved the

a. Evaluation of the existing network equipment deployment and

b. Recommendations for improvements to the network architecture, bandwidth management, traffic routing and optical layer dimensioning.

Sept 96 – Sept 00

Computer Advisor, Self-Employed.

Run a word processing service for students at the university, involving typing, formatting and printing of assignments. Further to that I offered advice and technical support on computer hardware and software related issues.

July – Sept 1997

July – Sept 1998

Job Title:

Job Function:

Scope of Role:

Computer Advisor, V.C.I. Hotel and Catering Consultants Ltd, London, UK.

Computer Advisor

IT Support

Advisor to the food and beverages control department, where my duties involved basic software and hardware technical support, and management of the food and beverage stock database.

OTHER SKILLS:

Communication:

· Presentation skills – gained while at Nortel Networks and at university through the presentation of several projects.

· Customer liaison – working in a consultancy position required dealing with customers, guests and business partners in a professional manner.

· Persuasion – served as a student representative at university and successfully argued student problems/requests at departmental student-staff meetings.

Teamwork:

· Co-operative – project work both at work and at university required tact, assertiveness and a sense of humour to achieve a successful outcome.

· As a representative of the student body in high school, and chairperson of the Hellenic Society of Brunel University the ability to get on with people at all levels was required.

Leadership:

· Leadership – Acted as the Chairperson of the Brunel University Amateur Radio Society,

· Self-Confidence – Acted as the Computing Officer of the Brunel University Hellenic Society and the Treasurer of the English School Amateur Radio club.

Creativity:

· An amateur interest in photography developed skills in image composition, lighting and presentation.

Computing:

· Proficient in the use of office automation packages, in particular the Ms Office and Sun StarOffice suits.

· Some experience in using Ms Access.

· Familiar with Adobe PhotoShop 5, Adobe Illustrator 8, Corel Draw 6 and Corel Photo-Paint 6, Macromedia Flash 5, and Macromedia Freehand 9.

· Programming experience using Borland Pascal and HTML. Have also attended some Java training.

· Familiar with various Operating Systems in particular, proficient in the use and troubleshooting of Windows 95/98, very good knowledge of Windows NT and 2000, and familiar with UNIX and Linux.

Languages:

· Fluent in Greek and English.

· Beginner in Spanish.

Driving:

· Full, clean, current Driving Licence.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

· Received the title of ‘Scout of the Republic of Cyprus’ that is the highest scouting honorary award, rewarded by the president of the republic of Cyprus.

· Awarded the Gold Standard of the Duke of Edinburgh Award by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, UK.

· Attained the St. John First Aid Medallion.

· Achieved numerous top ten positions world wide in Amateur Radio competitions.

· Gained appraisal for a photograph in an Agfa international photography competition and received first prize for colour photography in a university competition.

INTERESTS:

Sports:

· PADI certified Advanced Open Water scuba diver.

· Occasionally I play Tennis and Field Hockey.

Hobbies:

· Lifetime member of the Cyprus Amateur Radio Society, and the World Scouting Movement.

· Photography, Hiking, and Camping.