He thinks it’s really cool having a place of work where the goal of your organisation is to make the world a better place.
Bruce Coble, a Senior Business Analyst in IT, has worked at UNSW for six years looking after Archibus (a system for facility and space management) and other spatial systems. Although primarily a systems-focused role, he says it’s also a “people-focused” role.
“A lot of what we do isn’t just about the systems, it’s about the people who use them and having that communication is really important.
“People need to talk, meet and discuss ideas because it’s a good way to come up with creative solutions to problems in a collaborative way,” he says.
Bruce loves the social aspect of work. This has been one of the big drawcards for him working at UNSW.
“I’ve been really lucky to have team members who make you want to come to work and spend time with them.”
Bruce, the student
Earlier this year, Bruce took advantage of the Employee Education Discount at UNSW, and commenced a Graduate Certificate in Simulation and Immersive Technologies through the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture. He’s very grateful for the opportunity the University has given him to study here.
He was intrigued by this new area of study and chose the course partly because it hasn’t been defined yet, which he finds exciting.
“In a nutshell, simulation and immersive technologies really relate to what we’re doing here as it can be used for education, particularly medical and defence education, to train people in a safe way.
“Immersive technologies offers a lot of interesting possibilities, such as 3D immersion. For facilities and Estate Management it offers new ways of looking at maintenance and property development,” he says.
John Lennon required for the Beatles
Bruce’s love of music was inspired by his high school music teacher who challenged him to look at songs and really analyse what it was he liked about the music.
After finding piano a bit boring and not connecting to it, he taught himself how to play guitar by listening to songs and playing by ear.
At age 16, he wrote a song in his head on the way home from school and then thought he’d play it to his peers in the school assembly. This was an eye-opener for his friends who didn’t know he could sing or play guitar, and that led to him forming a band and continuing to play after leaving school.
“One day I saw an ad in the paper for a person required to play the part of John Lennon in a Beatles band. The band was called ‘The Beatnix’ and had been around for 10 years at that stage. I thought this would be a laugh and decided to go along to the audition.
“The band had mainly been playing in Sydney pubs as the tribute scene hadn’t quite taken off yet. I joined it in 1990 and within two months we had our first TV appearance at a Telethon on Channel Seven. From there things took off very quickly. I was the last missing piece of the puzzle for the band’s line-up and it just worked.”
In 1996, all four band members formed a new group called ‘The Beatels’ and Bruce only finished with it this year. In that time the band played to more than one million people and he fondly remembers many of the incredible experiences.
“We did a show with Pete Best, the original drummer of the Beatles and met with some of the producers of the Beatles. One of the highlights was a show at Festival Hall in Melbourne to celebrate 30 years since the Beatles played on that stage and I got to wear one of John Lennon’s original suits.”
Can you tell us something about you that might surprise your colleagues?
They might not know that I’ve played to more than one million people.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
“Life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans”. It’s actually a quote from a John Lennon song and it seems to describe my life in a nutshell.
What’s one thing that makes you happy?
Bike riding. I ride about three 30km rides a week on off-road paths along the Parramatta River.
What day in your life would you like to relive?
A Midnight Oil concert at the Capitol Theatre in 1983.
What’s the best thing you’ve watched in the last year?
Paul Weller at the Sydney Opera House.
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