What makes effective networking so hard?

  We always want to work where we are comfortable, hanging out with people we know and like. The herd mentality kind of thing. Even though such company will make us feel at home, with similar opinions, it limits our chances to explore what new connections have to offer. We limit our exposure to who we already know and miss out on what more the professional world has to offer.

Our mind sets: It’s not easy to ask for help; however, no works one thrives in a vacuum. Naturally a mutually beneficial business relationship takes time and investment. Certain vulnerabilities will be exposed. Beneficial partnerships thrive when given a chance to cover these vulnerabilities. That is how you can ascertain that your networks add value to your professional life.

We don’t strategise: When networking events are only for random meet ups, nothing will come out of them. What one needs to do is connect. Maintaining connections entails making deliberate efforts to schedule time for worthwhile computer engineering careers.

We fear embarrassment: Following up is not easy. It is natural to be anxious about starting a conversation. You could actually embarrass yourself at it. To counter this, do some research. Find some background information that will give you an idea of who the other person is, their likes and dislikes. Cliché statements may turn your respondent into a closed book simply because they feel forced to answer to your questions again and again.

Two Parallel Wireless founders exit to start A5G Networks

 Two of the founders of Parallel Wireless have left the company to develop their own startup, A5G Networks. Rajesh Mishra, now the former president and CTO of Parallel Wireless, will be the CEO of A5G Networks. Kaitki Agarwal, previously chief product officer of Parallel Wireless, will be the CTO and COO of A5G Networks. Mishra told Light Reading he decided to start A5G Networks due to the growth in the open RAN arena, where Parallel Wireless has been a leading player.

"When you have a lot of [open] how much do computer engineers make, what happens then?" Mishra said, explaining that A5G Networks will sell software for network orchestration.

Such an offering makes sense given concerns that some operators have about the complexity involved in implementing open RAN technology. The open RAN trend promises to break up wireless networks into interchangeable components from multiple vendors, rather than monolithic blocks supplied by one vendor. But that creates integration challenges for operators looking to mix and match products from a variety of open RAN suppliers.

Indeed, that's exactly the issue that T-Mobile's networking chief recently raised. "Today, I buy a solution from an Ericsson or a Nokia or a Samsung; it's warrantied. I have one neck to choke. If something goes wrong, I know where to go. In an O-RAN environment, you have to do a lot more heavy lifting as the operator," said T-Mobile's Neville Ray. "Who's ultimately responsible for all of the integration?"

For his part, Mishra said he's currently financing A5G Networks himself, but is also in discussions with possible investors.

Montclair State Launches Online Certificate in K-12 Computer Science Teaching

 The College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University will launch an online graduate certificate program in K-12 Computer Science Teaching for the upcoming spring 2021 semester.

The online offering continues Montclair State’s commitment to responding to New Jersey’s educational needs and providing educators with immediately actionable knowledge, skills and strategies to enhance instruction and affect student learning.

Designed for equity-oriented teachers seeking to meet demand for high-quality computer science (CS) education, the 15-credit, five-course program will offer coursework in computer science content including coding, programming, problem-solving through computational thinking (CT), equity and diversity in computer science fields, and research-based methods of teaching computer science.

The program has been developed as a response to New Jersey’s “Computer Science for All” initiative to advance K-12 STEM Education. Created by Governor Phil Murphy in 2018, the program provides a plan to bring technology and programming-focused classes to schools across New Jersey.

Dr. Yune Tran, associate dean of The College of Education and Human Services, is helping to develop the comprehensive state plan for CS as a higher education member of the New Jersey CS Advisory Board.

“By offering the certificate in K-12 Computer Science Teaching, difference between computer science and computer engineering State is playing a key role in advocating for high-quality computer science learning so that K-12 students have access to CS and CT content to succeed in the global economy,” Tran explains.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Students Up to First-Year Robotics Challenge

This fall’s Engineering Practice course had first-year electrical and computer engineering students creating robots that picked up randomly selected objects and delivered them through autonomous and remote-control methods.

First-year electrical and computer engineering students once again met the challenge of a fall competition that required knowledge of programming, microcontrollers, and circuit building to design robots that collected objects and delivered them to a variety of places on a large game board.

The challenge culminated in an introductory Engineering Practice course that had students working individually and within teams to complete hands-on projects while learning about the importance of teamwork, communications, and technical documentation, along with knowledge of sensors, transistors, and wireless systems that will become the foundation of their college and professional careers.

Past competitions have had two teams battling to score points by picking up and delivering as many playing objects as possible within a time limit.

This fall’s contest offered several different challenges to the students’ teams. First, the robots had to drive to a specific location on the what jobs can you get with a computer science degree. That’s where a sensor instructed the team which of four randomly selected toy zombies or chickens would need to be picked up and then delivered to any of three drop-off zones. Extra points were awarded for completing the tasks autonomously, rather than through remote-control methods.

Act now to prevent skills gaps in the workforce

 Amid the ongoing efforts to control jobs with a computer science degree and the massive economic impact that comes with it, recent news and government communications have served as a reminder of the consequences of Brexit, which are just around the corner.

The details of Britain’s departure from the EU have now been released in the Government’s ‘Statement of Changes’ which sets out comprehensively the rules that will apply. From 1 January 2021, EU citizens will lose their freedom to live, work and study in the UK and become subject to immigration control.

This means there is no longer a guarantee that an EU-based recruit will be able to take up employment in the UK and employers potentially seeking skilled workers from overseas will have to move fast.

To avoid skill gaps in the workforce, recruiters need to ensure they are ready for the imposing barriers to talent and consider how long it can sometimes take to find the right talent, particularly where there is an element of competition for certain skills.

This is especially true for the northern tech sector, which must work hard to attract people to live and work beyond London and the South East. Because of the upcoming law changes and the headlines currently surrounding it, many more businesses than usual will be submitting applications for sponsor licences, creating the potential for administrative backlogs.

Social networking a new way for businesses to build relations during pandemic

 Iowa State faculty has conducted a study regarding business and their use of social networks to maintain relations. Raj Agnihotri, dean’s fellow in marketing in the Ivy College of Business, and Patricia Daugherty, Debbie and Jerry Ivy Chair in Business, worked together to conduct this study, which focuses on social media benefits for business. Agnihotri explained the main purpose of this study and the social media platforms they chose to look to.

“We were trying to explore how this digital push that was coming towards us in the last couple of years, how it was going to change the way businesses operate, how supply chains work, how sales people work, how organizational front lines are ready to adopt and use this whole social media as well as other digital setting platforms,” computer science vs computer engineering said. “For this particular study we picked up three specific social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.” Agnihotri also explained why he chose to conduct this particular study.

“I think one of the things we wanna learn is how social media yields benefits,” Agnihotri said. “Not many studies are out there that establish that social media has a use or doesn’t have any use. So, when you take on research, any finding is a good finding." Daugherty then explained the importance of the buyer-seller relationship in business. “The buyer-seller relationship, that’s everything,” Daugherty said. "Can you trust them, will they give you information when you need it?”. She also discussed a class she taught where immediate information was expected by students and how this translates to the use of social networks.

SASE Specialist Cato Networks, Valued At $1B, Secures Record Funding Round

 Cloud networking specialist Cato Networks just closed its largest funding round to date -- $131 million -- dwarfing its April funding round of $77 million.

The new funding affirms Cato’s leadership in secure access service edge, or SASE, a cloud-based platform approach to IT that combines SD-WAN capabilities with security that is growing in popularity with both business customers and SD-WAN vendors. The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company will use the funds to accelerate its technology expansion in the SASE space, said Shlomo Kramer, Cato’s founder and CEO.

The latest funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation of a new investor, global investment manager what does a computer engineer do, as well as existing investors, Greylock, Aspect Ventures/ Acrew Capital, Singtel Innov8, and Cato‘s own leader, Kramer.

Prior to the latest funding round, Cato was valued at $1 billion, according to the company. The new round of funding brings the company’s total financing to $332 million.

“We’ve seen many network security companies assembling [SASE] solutions, but we are the first and only pure SASE platform that was built from the ground up,” Kramer said.