On June 20, APIE held a special onsite session for students at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines. “Meet the Internet Engineers” was conceived as a chat-over-morning-coffee event where APIE learners from USC could meet with Internet engineers and other professionals in the field. USC supported the organization of this event in addition to hosting the 57th AI3 and SOI Asia Director’s Meeting at the Josef Baumgartner Learning Resource Center (LRC), located in the USC Talamban Campus.
All learners are undergraduate students who are currently taking the APIE online courses and are curious about a career in Internet-related areas. They brought great energy to the session and asked insightful questions about career paths for network engineers, including the necessary skills and education. It was also a valuable opportunity to gain insights into the biggest challenges and rewards of being a professional in this domain.
The list of guests included Noriatsu Kudo, the lead of the APIE Course, and Bani Lara from the DOST-Philippines, among other professionals from academia, infrastructure, application development, and non-profit (internet governance) fields. They shared personal stories, professional experiences, and valuable advice for aspiring professionals.
The organization team included David Louie Bedia, who is also a teaching assistant in the ongoing batch. SOI Asia and the APIE teams hope to bring this session to other partner institutions soon and continue strengthening the bonds among the community.