Neville started his career as a radio and electronics officer in the Merchant Navy. He became interested in computing and, after returning to full time education, worked in IT-related roles for various companies, including Plessey and IBM, while studying for a degree through the Open University. Eventually he joined Solent University as a lecturer, teaching radio and electronics, and eventually became involved in the development and teaching of the computer networking degree programme at Solent from its inception. He studied for an MSc in Software Engineering while at Solent.
He is a Fellow of AdvanceHE (the Higher Education Academy) and member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He is also a member of the British Computer Society, being a committee member of the Hampshire Branch and Inclusion Officer. He is also a member of the National Autistic Society.
Neville started his career with the International Marine Radio Company as a marine radio and electronics officer. After further study, he worked as a trials engineer on project Ptarmigan at Plessey, and then as a test engineer for IBM on the new National Air Traffic Control Centre, before joining Solent. He maintains close links with industry and his present area of interest is industrial networking.
Neville has almost 30 years' teaching experience in further and higher education in the fields of radio communication, electronics and computing. He was one of the original team members who designed the computer networking degree programme. He is also a Cisco instructor. In the past, Neville has taught on marine radio courses and has been a Global Maritime Distress and Safety (GMDSS) examiner for 25 years for the Association of Marine Electronic and Radio Colleges.
Neville’s research interests include network automation and configuration management. He also actively maintains an interest in industrial networking, including the security aspects. Other computing research interests include software defined networks and augmented reality. He also has an interest in special educational needs, in particular autism.
Neville is actively working on assessment automation projects and is in the process of preparing the outcomes for presentation at international conferences. He is in the process of developing new laboratory materials to meet the demands of changing technology and research-informed teaching. He is Inclusion Officer for the Hampshire Branch of the British Computer Society and is in the process of organising further events to promote understanding in this area.
In 2008, Neville was awarded a joint Curriculum Fellowship with Dr Jomo Batola that enabled them to pursue research interests in pedagogy.