{
  "personal_info": {
    "name": "Colin Salvatore Nardo",
    "email": "colin.nardo@gmail.com",
    "linkedin": "www.linkedin.com/in/colin-salvatore-nardo",
    "website": "nardocol.in"
  },
  "summary": "I am a dedicated MSci Computing Science student at the University of Glasgow, on track for a First-Class Honours. My experience revolves around building and deploying full-stack AI applications, leading collaborative technical projects, and translating complex requirements into practical software solutions. As President of the University's AI Society, I actively foster a community of learning and innovation. I am driven by the opportunity to apply my skills in software engineering and artificial intelligence to solve challenging, real-world problems in results-focused, collaborative environments.",
  "professional_focus": {
    "problem_solving_style": [
      "I thrive on delivering concrete results, a mindset proven by my 1st place victory in the GUTS Code Olympics, a high-pressure competitive programming challenge. This mirrors my focus on achieving tangible outcomes in all my project work.",
      "My approach involves designing efficient, production-ready solutions, even within significant constraints. A key example is my AI Chatbot, which I engineered specifically for CPU-only inference to ensure it was accessible and performant without requiring expensive hardware.",
      "I excel at bridging the gap between user needs and technical implementation. In the Course Content Mapping project, I worked directly with university staff, translating their complex Excel-based workflows into an intuitive, interactive web application."
    ],
    "leadership_and_teamwork": [
      "In my role as President of the Glasgow University AI Society, I lead a diverse committee to organize weekly workshops and industry talks for over 100 members, featuring speakers from major companies like Google, Hugging Face, and JP Morgan.",
      "This leadership experience has honed my communication and organizational skills, teaching me how to coordinate with industry professionals, manage event logistics, and delegate responsibilities effectively to ensure the smooth execution of our initiatives.",
      "I am committed to fostering an inclusive learning environment where collaboration and knowledge-sharing are paramount. I believe that diverse perspectives lead to stronger outcomes, a value I bring to every team I am a part of."
    ]
  },
  "technical_philosophy": {
    "title": "My Approach to Software Engineering",
    "points": [
      "Client-Focused Delivery: I believe that understanding client needs and adapting solutions is key to building lasting impact. I practice this by running sprint reviews and actively negotiating scope changes to ensure the final product aligns with stakeholder goals.",
      "Building Scalable & Trusted Systems: My work on my Minecraft mods, which reached over 30,000 downloads, strengthened my ability to build scalable, event-driven systems that are used and trusted by a large community.",
      "Innovation with a Purpose: I am motivated by the chance to contribute to impactful systems and am passionate about pushing technical boundaries to create practical, forward-looking solutions that solve real-world problems."
    ]
  },
  "education": {
    "institution": "University of Glasgow",
    "degree": "MSci in Computing Science",
    "dates": "September 2022 - May 2027",
    "details": [
      "I am currently on track for a First-class Honours (1st) prediction.",
      "My core coursework has provided a strong foundation in both theory and practice, with key courses including Object-Oriented Programming, Algorithms and Data Structures, Operating Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Practical Natural Language Processing."
    ]
  },
  "projects": [
    {
      "title": "AI Voice Clone & Chatbot",
      "organization": "Personal Project",
      "dates": "October 2024 - April 2025",
      "technologies": ["Python", "FastAPI", "Next.js", "React", "TypeScript", "Qdrant", "RAG", "GGUF", "Piper TTS"],
      "contributions": [
        "I single-handedly developed and deployed this full-stack conversational AI, which is live on my portfolio. It functions as an AI clone of me, capable of answering questions about my experience.",
        "I architected the entire system, building a robust Python FastAPI backend to handle the AI logic and a responsive Next.js and TypeScript frontend for the user interface.",
        "The core of the AI is a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline I engineered to provide it with a custom knowledge base (my CV), ensuring its answers are accurate and relevant.",
        "A key achievement was optimizing the entire system for CPU-only inference. This involved using quantized GGUF language models and a lightweight Piper TTS engine, making it accessible 24/7 on small PCs without needing a GPU.",
        "To create a realistic and personal voice, I fine-tuned the Text-to-Speech engine on over 300 of my own voice recordings, enabling fully offline, natural-sounding speech synthesis."
      ],
      "key_takeaways": "This end-to-end project demonstrates my ability to design and build efficient, production-ready solutions, even in resource-constrained settings. It required creative problem-solving and iterative refinement to push technical boundaries and deliver a complete, polished application.",
      "technical_deep_dive": "The RAG pipeline uses a Qdrant vector database to store and retrieve context from embedded text chunks with low latency. The backend is deployed via Cloudflare Tunnels to handle dynamic IP routing, ensuring robust and secure performance."
    },
    {
      "title": "Course Content Mapping Web Application",
      "organization": "University of Glasgow (LISU)",
      "dates": "September 2024 - April 2025",
      "technologies": ["Python", "FastAPI", "React", "TypeScript", "SQLModel", "SQLAlchemy", "Docker", "Nginx", "ApexCharts"],
      "contributions": [
        "I led the frontend development for this web application, designed to modernize the course planning process for university professors by replacing a cumbersome Excel-based system.",
        "Using React and TypeScript, I engineered an interactive Single Page Application with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for organizing course activities.",
        "I was the main point of contact for the clients, organizing monthly sprint reviews to present progress, gather feedback on evolving requirements, and negotiate the scope for upcoming development cycles.",
        "The application features data visualization dashboards using ApexCharts to track learning hours and graduate attribute coverage, providing valuable insights to academic staff.",
        "The backend is a robust REST API built with Python and FastAPI, using SQLModel for database interaction and object validation, all containerized with Docker."
      ],
      "key_takeaways": "This project gave me critical experience in translating complex client requirements into clear specifications and a user-friendly product. Collaborating with teammates in agile sprints improved my ability to deliver iterative updates and ensure the application met both technical and regulatory needs.",
      "technical_deep_dive": "The application is fully containerized using Docker and orchestrated with Docker Compose. An Nginx server acts as a reverse proxy, handling requests and directing traffic to the appropriate frontend or backend service. The backend includes role-based permissions and session authentication for security."
    },
    {
      "title": "Java Mod Development for Minecraft (CobblePass)",
      "organization": "Personal Project",
      "dates": "December 2025 - May 2025",
      "technologies": ["Java", "Fabric API", "Gradle", "JSON"],
      "contributions": [
        "I developed and published two popular server-side mods for Minecraft from scratch using Java and the Fabric API, which have achieved over 30,000 combined downloads.",
        "The primary mod, CobblePass, is a highly flexible battle pass system designed to drive player engagement through a dual-track reward system (free and premium).",
        "I designed and implemented dynamic user interfaces for players and robust, schema-based JSON configurations, allowing server administrators to deeply customize seasons, rewards, and GUI layouts without restarting the server.",
        "The mod features a rich suite of in-game admin commands for live management of seasons and player data."
      ],
      "key_takeaways": "This project strengthened my ability to build scalable, event-driven systems that are used and trusted by a large and active community. It was a deep dive into object-oriented programming, data persistence, and API integration in a real-world application.",
      "technical_deep_dive": "I engineered an event-driven architecture to track in-game player actions, such as catching a creature, which then grants experience. The system manages persistent user data across sessions and integrates with third-party APIs like GooeyLibs for the GUI and the Impactor API for in-game economy features."
    },
    {
      "title": "Glasgow University Artificial Intelligence Society President",
      "organization": "Glasgow University Artificial Intelligence Society",
      "dates": "May 2024 - Present",
      "technologies": ["Leadership", "Event Management", "Public Speaking", "Networking", "Community Building"],
      "contributions": [
        "As President, I lead the society's mission to equip students with practical AI skills. I organize and coordinate a full calendar of events, including weekly hands-on technical workshops.",
        "I am responsible for industry outreach, successfully hosting guest talks with leading professionals from companies like JP Morgan, Hugging Face, and Google to provide members with insights into real-world AI applications and trends.",
        "I manage collaborations with external organizations to create valuable networking opportunities and source internships for our members in AI-related fields."
      ],
      "key_takeaways": "This role has been instrumental in developing my leadership, communication, and organizational skills. It has taught me how to manage an inclusive environment, delegate responsibilities effectively, and coordinate complex events, all of which are essential for working in multi-disciplinary teams."
    },
    {
      "title": "GUTS Code Olympics & Hackathons",
      "organization": "Glasgow University Tech Society",
      "dates": "October 2024, February 2025",
      "technologies": ["Competitive Programming", "Algorithms", "Data Structures", "Three.js", "JavaScript", "Blender"],
      "contributions": [
        "I achieved 1st place in the GUTS Code Olympics, a competitive programming challenge sponsored by J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, and SAS, where I secured over 80% of the total available points.",
        "At a separate GUTS hackathon, I led a team in the rapid development of a multiplayer 3D web game using Three.js, which featured airplanes navigating a 3D globe.",
        "For the game, I created dynamic hazards like earthquakes and hurricanes that players had to avoid in real-time. I also personally modelled all the low-poly 3D assets from scratch in Blender to ensure a cohesive visual design."
      ],
      "key_takeaways": "These competitions demonstrated my ability to solve complex problems under pressure and to rapidly prototype functional applications. The hackathon in particular was a great exercise in teamwork, 3D graphics programming, and creative design."
    }
  ],
  "experience": [
    {
      "role": "Storage Administrator",
      "company": "Saint Storage",
      "location": "St. Andrews, Scotland",
      "dates": "August 2023 - August 2024",
      "description": "In this role, I assisted in optimizing the company's logistics operations. My main contribution was supporting the integration of Storage IQ, a web application built with Ruby on Rails, which helped to enhance warehouse efficiency and improve the accuracy of deliveries."
    }
  ],
  "skills": {
    "languages": ["Python", "Java", "TypeScript/JavaScript", "SQL"],
    "frameworks_and_libraries": ["FastAPI", "React", "Next.js", "Three.js", "PyTorch", "SQLAlchemy", "SvelteKit", "GSAP"],
    "databases_and_data": ["SQL", "Qdrant (Vector DB)", "RAG Pipelines", "Docker", "Sanity CMS"],
    "spoken_languages": [
      { "language": "English", "proficiency": "Native" },
      { "language": "Italian", "proficiency": "Native" },
      { "language": "French", "proficiency": "Fluent" },
      { "language": "Spanish", "proficiency": "Intermediate" },
      { "language": "Sicilian", "proficiency": "Native" }
    ]
  }
}