07/12/2019
The Cisco International Internship Program is a year-long program that runs from August to July and is a great opportunity for high-performing international college students to get hands-on experience in the workforce!
Michael Michaelides is a CIIP intern from Cyprus studying Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh. Michael is working on the Digital Network Architecture team at Cisco and he took the time to tell us about his internship below!
Why did you choose Cisco International Internship Program (CIIP)?
Initially, I was looking for a summer internship because the university program I’m attending doesn’t include a year in industry as part of it. However, Cisco has been one of my favorite companies because it’s specializing in a subject I really like, computer networks and communications. Combined with the fact that it is taking place in Silicon Valley, the home to so much interesting research and technological development, made the decision easy.
What is your favorite thing about CIIP so far?
My favorite thing about the internship has been the experiences I made both during work hours and outside of work.
Professionally, apart from all the things I’ve learnt, I have gained a clearer idea of what role I’d like to pursue after finishing university and what to expect from my manager and my teammates.
Personally, this year has been very exciting because I got to meet and share my life with new people, travel all around the U.S. and live totally independently, things that I wasn’t able to do while studying.
Tell us about your team!
I’m part of the bigger Digital Network Architecture team, whose goal is to automate and simplify network management. My team consists of around twenty people, including all kinds of employees – interns, new graduates, remote workers, contractors and permanent employees. People are friendly and very knowledgeable, each one usually specializing on a different part of the whole project even though there’s flexibility on that.
What are you working on?
We are working on a startup project that uses machine reasoning to automatically troubleshoot network issues when they occur. The product is being released soon, supporting two major use cases, one of them being what I’ve actively been working on during most of my internship here. The use case is related to bridging loops, a problem that can cause great network disruption when it happens and it’s also difficult to troubleshoot manually, the way it’s being done currently. Me and my teammates have been working on a way to detect it, pinpoint on which part of the network it’s happening and suggest a solution.
What do you like about your work?
My favorite part of the work I do has to do with the fact that it coincides with the two main areas of my interests, computer networks and software engineering. Additionally, my team’s project is more like a startup idea that it never gets boring to work on because it’s very flexible, fast evolving and contains different sides that somebody can work on, for example web and cloud development, software and network engineering and finally machine reasoning. Apart from regular work, I enjoyed participating in events that Cisco organizes, like the hackathons and the patentathons, where individuals and teams can participate and submit innovative ideas and projects and get rewarded.
What does a typical day look like for you?
On a typical day I will usually arrive at the office in the morning after I have breakfast at home. I will usually check my emails and messages as a first thing in the morning and reply to those necessary. Then, my schedule starts to vary but it usually includes attending scrum meetings, coding, planning and brainstorming with my teammates and more coding. Even though I’m personally responsible for delivering my own tasks, my job usually includes a lot of interaction with other team members, so it doesn’t get boring.
What is the culture like at Cisco?
I like Cisco’s work culture. Where I work the office has an open floorplan and people can personalize their workspace as they like. People usually feel free to drop by someone else’s desk to communicate, rather than texting or emailing. At the same time, if somebody wants a very quiet place to communicate, there are quiet rooms and spots all over the floor that you can move to, you don’t necessarily have to stay at your desk. People are usually friendly and willing to help if you ask them, even if they are busy. Also, there are frequent social events and team outings that make it easier to meet other people and have fun.
What technologies/projects interest you that you are hoping to work on at Cisco?
My interests revolve around both software engineering and computer networks. Cisco has been a good match for me because it’s specializing in networks and focusing on software too. Fortunately, I get a good dose of both of these on my everyday work.
What are your future career goals?
After graduating, and maybe doing a masters, I’d like to work a few years in the industry to gain experience but eventually I’d like to work for my own company.
What is the best thing about working in the Bay Area?
It seems to me that the most interesting projects, ideas and technologies are firstly adopted, tried and developed here before making it out to the other parts of the world so this makes the Bay Area a really interesting place to work at as an engineer.
Have you taken any weekend trips yet?
Yes, I did. Mainly visiting Monterey for scuba diving with my roommate or other nearby areas of California. Apart from the weekends, my favorite trips were during the Christmas shutdown period, where I joined a few other interns for a long road trip around seven east coast states and Canada and also another trip during PTO time, where me and my roommates visited Hawaii.
Do you have any future trips planned?
I have planned my last and longest trip so far for the next day after the end of my internship program. Thankfully, my visa expires one month after I officially finish the internship so I decided to take advantage of this time and explore California and the nearby states with my brother and friends who will be visiting from home.
What do you like to do in your free time?
During my free time here, I have been doing different things during different times. Some of the activities include exploring California and the other states, studying for university or for external certifications, exercising at the gym or at the swimming pool of our community and sometimes chilling.
What was your favorite cultural event, why?
My favorite cultural event was the Sharks game. I enjoyed the other cultural events too, but I found this event to be the most interesting because it was something completely new to me. In Europe, it is not that popular so I would have probably never thought of attended a hockey game, but it turned out to be fun trying to figure out what’s happening in the field.
How did you prepare for Year-End Showcase?
The biggest part of the planning I did for the YES was about how to put down on a single poster or slide a yearlong project, in a way that captures all the necessary information while keeping it simple enough to be able to communicate it to non-technical audience.
What did you take away from Mid-Year Showcase/Year-End Showcase?
I enjoyed talking with people sharing similar interests and speaking to them about the details of my project but what I found challenging was speaking to audience of a different background. In the beginning I was going over the same pitch for every person that would come over but eventually I realized that it’s better to have a very short, high level presentation, free from any subject specific jargon for the beginning and then let the other person decide to what extend they’re interested to find out
Do you have any tips for future interns?
Even though what you do and how well you do at work is really important, this is maybe half of what you can gain or remember after the internship ends. There is enough free time and opportunity to do almost whatever you wanted to do or achieve, either on an academic, professional or personal aspect.
You can connect with Michael here, https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-michaelides-915355107
