Meet Our Students
Name:Ankini Shah
Hometown: Bombay, India
Class: 2007 MSIN
Employer: Microsoft ®
Organizations: Woman@INI, GSA
Describe the INI student body:
Ankini: It's diverse. We have people from India, the U.S., China, Hong Kong and Greece. And I think it's nice, because everyone brings a little bit from back home. One of the things that makes us such a close family is that the INI is actually a little away from campus, on Henry Street. We have a building of our own, where we all have our own comptuer clusters and offices. The fact that we're all there, you know, literally 24 hours a day, I think that's what makes it very special. We have this kind of bonding, where we've seen each other through the best and the worst. So, as far as the student body goes, there is a lot of intelligent people, and there is a lot of people who know what they want and who have gone ahead and actually achieved it.
Where did you do your internship?
Ankini: I did my internship at Verizon, in Boston. I worked there as an application developer, working on two major projects, and both of them were really exciting. Both of them were on Windows mobile cell phone devices, so that was an arena that was very different for me. I really enjoyed myself there.
Name: Ricardo Marques
Class: 2009 Lisbon MSIT-IS
Employer: Nokia Seimens Networks
What research did you do during the program?
Ricardo: My research project was about securing and recovering misplaced computing devices. The work is almost entirely theoretical, using state-of-the-art technology, such as Trusted Platform Modules for confidentiality of the data, as well as GPS signals for positioning information, but all done in such a way that the user's privacy is not at stake at any time.
How has the program helped your career?
Ricardo: Being in a program about information security has given me the skills to accept the position of security lead, and to take almost all the responsibility related to the security of that line of products.
Name: Eric Toan
Class: 2007 MSIN
Employer: Symantec
What makes the Carnegie Mellon faculty, especially in the INI program, unique?
Eric: You're just amazed at what all of these people have done. There's just such a huge pool of knowledge... it's a bit overwhelming. I would say the experience and the knowledge of the professors really makes Carnegie Mellon stand out.
Name: Carrie Price
Hometown: Goshen, Indiana
Class: 2007 MSISTM
Employer: Sandia National Laboratories
Organizations: Women@INI
What would you say to someone else who is considering the INI as his or her school of choice?
Carrie: If you're interested in security or in networking, the INI's a perfect fit because you get hands-on experience. There are so many people that you can use as resources who can help you with your degree program. I think it also prepares you a lot better than other universities can just because of the diversity, the faculty, outside facilities, and resources. It's just an amazing program. You couldn't go wrong.
Name: Ioannis Kolokouris
Hometown: Samos/Athens, Greece
Class: 2007 MSIN
Employer: INTRACOM Telecom
Could you describe for me what an AIT student is like?
Ioannis: I think he or she should be prepared for hard work. The first semester is difficult, but the next semesters are easier, and there is time for doing some research on some subjects that interest you. For example, other than the courses that you take, you have an independent study where you choose subjects that you want to do research on, and it's a chance to do something that you really like and enjoy. I guess you have to be ready for hard work, but there is also time for fun and doing very interesting things.
Name: George Gkekas
Hometown: Athens, Greece
Class: 2007 Athens MSIN
Employer: INTRACOM Telecom
How do you think a degree from Carnegie Mellon's INI helps you?
George: First of all you are coming from a very well known institute. Carnegie Mellon is known around the world and just the name and the reputation helps a lot. It is not just about the name however; in order to get admission to the program it means that you are valuable as well. Secondly, the courses that we have here are interesting, good, and very diverse. They cover a wide range of thematic areas. And then, of course there are the professors.
Name: Mario Rincon
Class: 2007 MSISTM
Employer: Cisco Systems
Organizations: MySecureCyberspace
How do you think the INI prepares students like yourself for the real world after you graduate?
Mario: They do several things. We had weekly meetings where people from real business would come and talk about what they were doing and what things they were interested in. During classes we had people from real companies talking about what their main interests were. We also had to take financial courses, technical courses, and courses in several other fields. So you actually get well prepared in several fields, and you interact with real professionals and real companies. We also had fairs where companies came here and offered us internships and full-time positions.