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Welcoming CENGN’s Summer 2021 Students
To kick off the summer, CENGN welcomed eight new students to the team and three returning students. This group of eleven students is distributed throughout both the business and technical CENGN teams. This term’s cohort includes students from Algonquin College, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Waterloo. They’re all settled into their home office and ready to begin their work term.
The CENGN Summer 2021 Students
Here’s the full list of our summer 2021 Co-Op students:
| Student Name | CENGN Role | School |
| Isreal Aritotuomah | Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Student | Carleton University |
| Ramy Mohamed | Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Student | Carleton University |
| Andrew Moore | Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Student | Carleton University |
| Julia Woodcock | Solutions Engineering Student (returning) | University of Waterloo |
| David Toth | Solutions Engineering Student (returning) | Carleton University |
| Riya Arora | Solutions Engineering Student | Carleton University |
| Aaron Buitenwerf | Training Operations Student | Carleton University |
| Estevão Costa | Content Writer Marketing Student | University of Ottawa |
| Emilia Jardim | Video and Design Marketing Student | Algonquin College |
| ‘Manapo ‘Mokose | Broadband Project Financial Specialist Student | Algonquin College |
| Fuhui Ying | Human Resource Specialist Student (returning) | University of Ottawa |
The Start of the CENGN Experience
The students’ four-month journey started with an intense week of virtual orientation and meetings with the CEO, Jean-Charles (JC) Fahmy, and team leads from every unit within CENGN. As JC explained to the students, “The first week you will be drinking from the fire hose, being exposed to all aspects of CENGN, including its organizational structure, culture and values, processes, and the importance of each team’s contribution to overall success.”
The students completed approximately 10 hours of orientation sessions, which gave them a high-level understanding of the business and more context to the work they will be doing throughout the four months. Right from day one, the students experienced how tightly knit the CENGN group is. They took part in virtual social gatherings with other employees. They learned how they’ll gain meaningful work experience and contribute to the company’s mission to drive growth and innovation in the Canadian technology sector.
Students are a core part of CENGN, corresponding to approximately 20% of the company’s employees throughout the year. Beyond the organization’s objectives of supporting small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, partnering with recognized industry organizations, and providing training to professionals in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, CENGN aims to develop student talent shaping them into work-ready professionals that make a big impact in the industry following their work term.
Throughout the term, CENGN offers students networking opportunities with industry leaders and rising Canadian start-ups, impactful work, and the flexibility and autonomy to focus on professional development.
Learning the Ropes: CCSS Certification Boot Camp
After the initial week of orientation, business and technical students take two different paths. Students in the human resources, marketing, and broadband teams are already rolling up their sleeves and immersing themselves in their new tasks with their team members. In the meantime, technical students embark on a self-paced two-week boot camp to learn the ropes and further understand working in a cloud systems environment.
The CENGN Cloud System Specialist (CCSS) program offers students a comprehensive take on essential concepts, knowledge, and tools for cloud systems. It’s just one of the various courses CENGN offers through CENGN Academy. The CCSS program is available on our website and through the University of Ottawa’s Professional Developmental Institute.
Upon program completion, students take a CCSS certification exam and are eligible to receive the CCSS certification and a digital badge to display on LinkedIn, if they wish.
The program extensively covers Linux and open-source tools like Docker, Kubernetes, OpenStack, network configuration, and network function virtualization (NFV).
This valuable training opportunity, combined with the chance to work on relevant networking and cloud projects with technical experts in their field, allows students to accrue various skills by the end of their term. CENGN prepares students to confidently work in the ICT sector in the future with relevant experience to show for.
Getting Down to Work
Students are excited to start working and see what CENGN has to offer as the term develops. With tasks ranging from managing OpenStack environments and building test spaces to boosting the CENGN brand, its programs, culture and values, the students are an essential part of CENGN.
Our interns finish their work term as trained networking professionals. To see if hiring CENGN student alumni is right for your organization, click here!
Are you a student looking for a co-op placement?
About the Author
Estevão Costa is the Content Writer Student at CENGN (Summer 2021) and a Marketing student at the University of Ottawa. His major interests lie in transforming complex, technical subjects into intelligible and enjoyable content through simple and engaging writing. Aside from his daily marketing activities, Estevão has been a Teaching Assistant at the University of Ottawa for two years for multiple business courses.
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