Success Stories
_______________________________________________________
Dimitris
Tzelos, MSITT 2005, (Greece)
I chose to do my degree in Information and Telecommunication Systems at
Athens Information Technology because the course description seemed to
suitme perfectly. I wanted to do both a telecom and IT degree, but I didn't
want
to spend hour upon hour writing computer codes and programs. It turned out
to be exactly what I was looking for, and helped me develop skills beyond
the technical telecom and IT world.
Coursework and team building exercises allowed us all to strengthen
important software skills. Time management, working in and leading a team,
organizational skills, and communication kills, were just a few of the
things we learned.
Taking part in this course gave me the feeling of being on the "cuttingedge"
of telecommunication and information technology and I enjoyed many
intellectually stimulating moments, the very friendly, encouraging, and
informed advice and feedback on my work - it was challenging and instructive
to discuss ideas in such a trans-disciplinary group. I also very much
appreciated the events, seminars, and lectures provided by AIT, in addition
to their masters' modules.
The courses, events, seminars, and colloquium, were of great interest as
they focused on relevant and up-to-date topics, offered stimulating
intellectual and scientific tools, and an exciting outlook on current
debates in the telecom industry.
Attending the lectures of academics and practitioners deeply involved in the
hottest issues pertaining to the field study on telecommunication technology
was a rewarding and eye-opening experience.
In addition, the atmosphere of MSITT course, and in particular at AIT, was
extremely friendly and welcoming, and proved a very nice environment to
further my studies. Facing the diverse and challenging perspectives offered
by other students coming from different backgrounds, and always stimulated
by the multidisciplinary approach provided by the teachers, made my time at
AIT both extremely enriching and fun.
I am very proud to have studied at AIT. I had a wonderful time during my
studies with new friends, new knowledge, a wonderful place, and friendly
lecturers. I would love to come back here for further study while thinking
in future participating in PhD Program.
Current position: Access & Transmission NMS Section, Network Technologies
Directorate, OTE Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A.
Konstantinos
Gkoutzis, MSITT 2005 - MSIN 2007, (Greece)
After completing the Greek Lyceum in Arsakeio school, I followed my passion
for Information Technology and registered in the CS department of the Athens
campus of University of Hertfordshire. After three years I received my BSc
Honours in Computer Science and immediately applied for the MSITT program at
Athens Information Technology. I was accepted with a partial scholarship and
one year later I completed the program, receiving an MSc in Information and
Telecommunications Technologies. Even before finishing the MSITT, I applied
for the MSIN program in AIT, which is offered in collaboration with Carnegie
Mellon University. I was accepted with full scholarship and a year and a
half later I completed it and received an MSc in Information Networking.
While I was a student in MSIN I applied for a PhD on "XML Technologies and
the Semantic Web" in the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. I
received an unconditional offer from the university, which I accepted, and I
am currently a part-time PhD student on the Semantic Web domain.
Parallel to my academic career, I have implemented a variety of projects in
different companies, as a freelance programmer. I have also worked in
Intrasoft International as a Systems Analyst on a European Union project,
and for the National Bank of Greece as an outsource Senior Java Architect.
In my free time, I write articles and short stories, some of which have been
published in various magazines. Recently, I was also selected as a candidate
for "Marquis Who's Who on the Web".
Both of my theses in the two Master's degrees I implemented at AIT were on
Semantic Web. With the help of Professor Tiropanis, I gained in depth
knowledge of the subject and that is the reason why I decided to pursue a
PhD program on this specific topic. All AIT staff and faculty members were
always helpful and eager to assist me and my co-students with all of our
issues. The two MSc programs may not have been easy, but they have played an
essential and drastic role in my academic and professional career and left
me with great new skills and many new close friends. Being the first student
to complete both MSITT and MSIN made me spend two and a half wonderful years
in AIT, which will always remain close to my heart.
Ippokratis
Pandis, MSIN 2005
(Greece)
I hold a B.Sc. degree from the Computer Engineering and Informatics
Department (CEID) of University of Patras, Greece. Starting August 2003, I
attended the Masters in Information Networking (MSIN) program that was
offered by Athens Information Technology (AIT) in conjuction with the
Information Networking Institute (INI) of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
I received my M.Sc. degree in December 2004, and then worked as a
researcher, member of the Autonomic and Grid Computing Group of AIT until
July 2005, under the supervision of Professors Lazaros Polymenakos and John
Soldatos. Currently, I am a Ph. D. candidate in the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department (ECE) of Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh,
PA, USA. My advisor is Professor Anastassia Ailamaki, and my research
focuses on Staged Database Systems.
While I was at AIT, I co-authored a number of papers, that were presented in
conferences or published in scientific journals. Most of them were related
with the topic of my Thesis (Middleware for Ubiquitous Computing), or the
topic of an Independent Study I conducted during my MSIN studies (Survey on
Semantic Web Services). A complete list of those publications can be found
in my web page (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ipandis/). AIT helped my boost my
expertise in specific areas of Computer Sciences, introduced me into a new
way of working, and always was a incredibly warm and inspiring environment.
Johnny
Awad, MSITT 2005
(Lebanon)
I come from Lebanon, where I got my first degree as an Electrical &
Electronics Engineer - Telecommunications and Informatics specialist, in the
summer of 2004. Right afterwards, I headed to Athens as a fresh graduate,
aiming for the Master of Science in Information and Telecommunications
Technologies degree from Athens Information Technology.
I had chosen AIT after a thorough online research which led me to the
conclusion that it is a highly professional environment which can strongly
boost my career. I specifically chose to pursue the MSITT courses of AIT
because they were interesting and offered a variety resulting in a more
flexible Master's degree. My focus was in IT security, and so I chose my
courses in this direction. Another detail in this master, which made it more
appealing to me, was that it would only last for one year (for a full-time
student, which I was), in a country close to my home country.
My journey as a foreign student in Athens started in October 2004, and so
did my one-year-long countdown. Soon afterwards, I started getting to like
my academic life in AIT and my life in general in Greece, that I
involuntarily stopped the countdown when I noticed that time was flying by
so fast!! It was mostly the heavy yet interesting academic work in AIT, the
wide variety of spare-time activities that I could practice in Athens and
the ease of making good friends in Greece which made my stay so smooth and
fun that I actually had to leave Greece at the end with heartache. I had
organized all my courses to be in the fall and spring semesters, so that I
would free all my summertime remaining semester for my thesis and summer fun
in Greece, which is a period not to miss there (and which I actually will
never forget!!)
My thesis topic was: "Implementation of a High Interaction Honeynet Testbed
for Educational and Research Purposes" - in collaboration with my colleague
Andreas Derdemezis, and under the supervision of Professor Spyros Vasilaras.
It was actually a very hot and worldwide topic in the IT security world,
which made it so appealing to me. We did in-depth studies on honeypots and
honeynets, and then created our own honeynet in AIT's labs, customized to
what we figured would best fit both industrial and academic environments. As
we finished our thesis work, Intracom showed their keen interest in using
our work for their business. And so the first rewards of our hard work
started to flourish.
But more rewards were yet to come!
Soon after finishing my Master's degree in AIT and getting back to Lebanon
on the 13th of September 2005, I was hired by Deloitte & Touche - Lebanon,
as an IT auditor. My job is related to security assessment of the IT
systems, networks and operations of big companies and banks in Lebanon and
the Middle East. This is actually quite a booming field in the area, and my
profile from AIT was exactly what Deloitte & Touche was looking for. At the
same time I am involved, along with my manager and colleague, in the
supervision of two final year projects related to IT security, in the
Computer and Communications Engineering department of the American
University of Beirut.
A few months after starting my job, I revisited Greece for my graduation
ceremony, and this is where I received the Dean's award for high academic
performance in AIT. Yet another reward from an unforgettable year!
As I flashback in memory to this 2004-2005 year, I feel overwhelmed by the
rewards and satisfaction from this experience.
It is the special and unforgettable friends that I made in Greece, and the
professionalism and friendliness of AIT's professors and staff, which gave
me the opportunity to get the best boost for my career, and still manage to
feel home and enjoy the beauty of Greece.
Athanasios
Barlas, MSIN 2006
(Greece)
After completing my Bachelor Degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering
(Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Polytechnic School, Specialization
in Telecommunications), I enrolled in the Master of Science in Information
Networking (MSIN) program which although was very demanding gave me a great
opportunity to enrich my knowledge in information networking. The high
quality of knowledge offered both from Carnegie Mellon and AIT (local
faculty), and the great AIT infrastructure (labs, facilities) are the
primary reasons that make me feel very lucky and proud of being a part of
such a program and I would propose to anybody with a background in computer
engineering.
My thesis was in cooperation with AIT and InAccess Networks Company – in a
real working environment. As a result, this “working experience - research”
made my transition into a professional career much easier. My paper for the
COST 291/GBOU ONNA Workshop on Design of Next Generation Optical Networks
(from the physical up to the network level perspective, Gent, Belgium,
February 6, 2006) was titled “Performance Evaluation of 2R Regenerator Based
on Self-Phase Modulation in Fiber”, and co-authored with Ch. Kouloumentas,
A. Barlas, A. Tzanakaki, and I. Tomkos
I am currently working as a VAS-Engineer with Motorola S.A (Sales Office) in
the Networks Department.