Where Are They Now? ➕ Jason Rodgers
#WhereYourFutureMeansMore ➕ We really value our alumni and we love hearing about their current endeavours and career journeys. In this week’s blog, we caught up with former Audio Engineering student, Jason Rodgers.
What course did you study at UHI Perth?
Why did you decide to pick this course?
When I was in high school, I was really involved with my school’s recording studio and did a lot of video production within the school. I love music but, by my own admission, I wasn’t good enough to study it. So, I continued with the audio route, and I honestly would not change it.
What were you doing before you came to UHI Perth?
I came to UHI straight from high school so before I started here, I was in sixth year.
Where do you currently work?
Police Scotland, working with Audio and Video
Please describe what you do now
I recently started a new job with Police Scotland, it’s a new challenge in a completely new environment that I’m really looking forward to.
Currently I am also a Postgraduate Researcher with Liverpool John Moores University as part of the Applied Forensic Technology Research Group, where I am working towards a PhD in audio forensics.
When time allows, I also work on a freelance basis taking on audio restoration and enhancement work as well as the occasional live sound gig.
Key milestones from graduation to now?
2017: I graduated in 2017 and had the opportunity to work on the Kings Among Scotland live DVD by Anthrax which was filmed at The Barrowlands in Glasgow.
2019: In 2019, I took up a job as audio producer with Edinburgh-based marketing firm, Bitesize Bio.
2022-2023: I went back to university for Postgraduate study. I enrolled with Liverpool John Moores University where I graduated with an MSc in Audio Forensics and Restoration.
2024: I had my first research paper published which dives into the ever-growing threat of deepfake audio. The paper is available here if anyone wants to read it!
2025: I start a new role with Police Scotland working with audio and video.
Biggest career highlight?
I had previously mentioned working on a live DVD for Anthrax as a highlight, however that now feels like "something cool". As part of my research for my master’s thesis, I have developed a test - consisting of a mixture of real recorded speech and deepfake in various states of difficulty - which requires the person taking the test to identify the deepfake audio. The feedback I have received for this has been fantastic and the consensus is that my test is really difficult. What is incredibly validating is that my test has caught the attention of the Forensic Science Regulator, The National College of Policing and various police forces including The Metropolitan Police, West Midlands Police, and Police Scotland.
Future aspirations?
Currently I am working towards a PhD by Publication now which I hope to achieve in the near future. Recently, I’ve completed a joint paper with a friend which we are submitting for publication and at the same time I am working on some more research which I am hoping to publish in 2025. All of this will go aways toward attaining a PhD. Further to this, I hope to contribute to audio forensics and further develop the field.
How did your course at UHI help you to get where you are?
When I studied at UHI, they ran my course (Audio Engineering) in tandem with the Music and Music Business courses and strongly encouraged us all to mingle and collaborate. The idea was that music business students could arrange shows and book the music students to perform and the audio students would provide the audio. Likewise, audio students needed to record audio for coursework - just like the musicians had to record compositions for their coursework. The collaboration was brilliant and through this collaboration I was asked by a friend from the music course to run audio for a band he had joined outside of the university. He later left the band, but I kept on working with them and built a friendship with one of the band members which eventually led to the job I have today, after he invited me to come and work for him. I firmly believe that had it not been for this collaboration, I would likely have not met my friend and now former employer!
Best thing about studying at UHI?
The best thing from my time at UHI is the friends that I made. We all graduated in 2016/2017, and we still keep in touch. On top of this, the resources we had available on campus were brilliant. Between the theatre for our live sound classes, and the 5x recording studios with a range of equipment, we had lots of gear to learn on and that only made-up part of our learning resources when you consider the connections that our lecturers had.
Were your lecturers at UHI Perth supportive during your studies?
100%, yes. I was really into live sound during my time, and I got lots of opportunities for real-world experience. The lecturing team also brought in outside speakers from other areas of the industry that I had never thought about before. On top of all of this, life happens to everyone and when I had a family bereavement close to the end of my third year, everyone was brilliant in making sure I was ok and helped to take some of the pressure off from uni work.
What advice would you give to someone that is considering studying Audio Engineering at UHI Perth
The biggest benefit of this department was that students can collaborate and network with each other. My advice would be to get yourself in there and just make friends – go speak to students on other courses and book recordings, go gigging etc. It really does pay off and the more you can do, the more it will pay off.
