Oliver was educated at Treverton in the Natal Midlands.  He achieved not only academic awards for Maths and Accounting but for Outdoor Pursuits too.  The school provided a healthy mix of academic and outdoor appreciation.  After Matriculating in 1997, Oliver worked on the first version of Mitech’s Valve Sizing Software called CvSize, a project that would be an ongoing project for the next 7 years.  After a break of 6 months to travel around Europe, Oliver started reading for his BSc(Eng) in Mechatronics.  Over the following four years, he excelled in his degree, picking up extra subjects from the Electrical, Mechanical and Computer Science departments; completing all the core Computer Science courses for that degree.  Over the years he was on the Deans Merit List and received the Class Medals for Mechatronics and numerous individual courses.  In the December holidays of 2000 and 2001 he went to work for Valvtechnologies Inc. in Houston, USA, offering his experience with valve sizing software.  In his fourth year he completed courses in Digital Electronics, Digital Signal Processing, Control and Power.  His thesis involved an investigation into closed loop system identification and the commissioning of plant control software (PlantStar from Mintek) in the laboratory situation.  After graduating with First Class Honours, he had a working holiday in Lincoln, New Hampshire, working on the ski lifts on a small mountain resort. On returning to South Africa, he started working on the development of a Semi-Smart Pneumatic Positioner, a project which evolved into his division of Engineering Sessions.